the wild savages

39 weeks + 4 days pregnant

2012-02-09T20:31:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures of my little baby shower dinner from two weeks ago...

All the lovely ladies that were in attendance.

Brittany and I with the cute crafty present she made. I loved all the adorable little girl things that were so generously given to me by my wonderful friends. It really made me excited to be having a girl!

Here is the amazing banner that Kim made, which is now hanging in the nursery.

And the beautiful centerpieces made by Rachel. She is so good at this sort of thing.

And the delicious cupcake favors made by Irene. Baking is one of Irene's many specialties.

And here is one last side view shot of this pregnancy- 3 days shy of the due date.

At my appointment last week I was 1 and 30% but today I was 3 and 70%. We are crossing our fingers that Baby girl might be a little more punctual than her brother, and actually come on or before her due date, rather than 10 dreaded days late, like him. Wouldn't that be nice?

TJ's Twentieth Month

2012-02-06T23:03:00.014-05:00

TJ's turned twenty months old today! In preparation for becoming a big brother and no longer the baby of the house, TJ decided to do a little growing up this month, and said "bye bye" to diapers. He has been interested in sitting on the potty (and actually doing a number or two) for a few months now. His interest peaked just before MLK Jr. day, so I did a quick search on babycenter.com and decided to go with the first method I found- potty training in three days. Trent was able to help over the long three day weekend, and it all went very well. TJ did lots of this:

And Trent and I did our fair share of cleaning up of small accidents (thank goodness for tile floors), lots of rushing TJ to the bathroom, and plenty of celebration dancing and cheering for TJ's hits in the potty. After the three days were up, we hesitantly labeled TJ "potty trained" and nervously took him out in public with just his big boy underwear on. We anticipated accidents, but it has been three weeks now and TJ has yet to disappoint- no accidents away from home (except for that one time at the Sirman's house- Sorry Stace!!)

TJ's favorite part of the potty training weekend was running around the house without clothes on. And the awesome celebration dancing, of course.

One of TJ's first outings in underwear was to the local museum. It was actually his first public restroom experience, and despite the fact that public restrooms are disgusting, it went very well. Thankfully TJ isn't afraid of public restrooms like his mama.

TJ checking out the butterflies through the glass window. Because we're too cheap to pay the eight dollar admission to go inside :)

Smile and look normal. Fail.

Rylee and Warner were such big helpers throughout the museum. They picked TJ up when he couldn't see for himself...

Made sure he didn't fall off the high stools...

And kept a tight rein on that monkey tail.

We had a blast at the museum. I am so glad Alex and Brittany stopped by with the kids to play for the day.

TJ eating his lunch out back. I should have taken more pictures this month of TJ playing outside. With all the nice weather we have been having, the backyard is where we like to play, especially with our new sandbox, blackboard, and hammock.

Our little "lettuce head" enjoying lunch with Daddy at Crispers. TJ actually hates lettuce, but if he wears this over sized "lettuce head" shirt, he gets his meal for a buck.

A fun trip to the library with Kim, Julian, and Ella Grace, turned out to be even more fun after locking TJ in the car. I checked with my mom and sister and they confirmed that I am The Best. Mom. Ever. They have two and four times as many kids as me and have never done this. And my kid is only twenty months old!! Thank goodness for Kim for having a cell phone to call all the firemen, who rushed to the scene...

pried open the door...

and saved TJ from ~~dying~~ having too much fun while being locked in the car. In the short 10 minutes or so that he was locked in, he managed to climb into the front seat, find deodorant and lotion, and make a mess of it on the seats and windows of the car. I may have shed a tear or two in the drama of it all, but TJ definitely did not. And at the end of the day, my car smelt amazing.

We made a spur of the moment decision to go to Dudley's Farm last weekend. Here is a picture of Trent helping TJ balance and walk along a log.

Trent, TJ, and the monkey walking down the path to see some horses plow a field.

We lucked out because it just so happened to be "Plow Day" on the farm. It was actually quite interesting to see how horses used to plow fields back in the day.

TJ enjoyed trying to pump water from this well, but the well just about pumped him. He's not quite old enough to put to work on the farm.

But we do put him to work at home. He still loves to be right in the middle of what we are doing, which is sometimes helpful, other times, not as much. With all these last minute projects before baby girl arrives, TJ is one happy little helper, but the projects are a bit longer and more drawn out for me. However, the "To Do" list is getting shorter and we are hoping TJ will be a big brother VERY soon. We will keep you posted.

Spitting Image

2012-01-21T10:52:00.001-05:00

TJ might be a Trent Junior, and we are often told that TJ looks just like Trent, but I think TJ might have some of those so-called Lunt genes too. I found a few baby pictures laying around at my parent's house, and I am told they are of my brother, Alex... but tell me this doesn't look EXACTLY like TJ:

When I ask TJ who the above picture is he always says, "Rex" (Alex's youngest son). Interesting. I suppose that means TJ isn't quite a "spitting image" of Alex, but I do see a very, very, close resemblance.

We were fortunate enough to have Alex and family visit us in Gainesville on their way down to Orlando this week. Here is Alex (in the background) with his son, Warner, holding TJ:

Certainly some Lunt looks going on in that picture, no?

TJ's Nineteenth Month

2012-01-08T21:51:00.004-05:00

TJ had a very merry nineteenth month. We were able to go up to my parent's house to celebrate Christmas and spend time with family. I was lazy this month and didn't take a single picture with my camera, but thank goodness for the few taken with my dad's camera in addition to a few from my phone.

TJ loves going to my parents house because a) he loves my parents b) he loves my parents dog, Anna, and c) he loves to play outdoors. Swinging on this tire is just one of his favorite things to do in their yard.

We spent Christmas Eve with my Mom, Dad, Andy's family, and Alex's family. After dinner we had the kids dress up as we sang each verse of The Nativity Song. TJ decided to opt out of this activity (read- temper tantrum over holding a star), leaving only four others to fill in all the other roles to be played. Stevie had us all laughing as he crawled and baaa-ed even after his role of sheep was over- here he is as a baa-ing shepherd.

We then exchanged gifts. TJ loved opening presents, and was ecstatic to get a basketball and PJs from Alex and family, a little people zoo with animals from my parents, animals from Andy and family, Playdoh from Amanda and family, and a magna doodle from Sabrina and family. But I think he was most excited about his new basketball, TJ just can't get enough of those balls.

Christmas morning we opened more presents, including those from Santa. This year we decided to start the tradition of giving TJ four presents- something he wants (cars and a mat to drive them on), something to wear (socks),

something he needs (sandbox), (a cleaner version of digging in the back yard)

and something to read (a book about machines).

After opening presents we went over to Alex and Brittany's house for their special french toast and homemade syrup. As soon as they were done eating, the older boys went outside to play a game of basketball while the younger boys got in their way.

When we got back to my parents house after church, TJ took off his pants and pranced around in his button-up shirt, vest, and rain boots ensemble while helping himself to a healthy snack.

After Christmas we stayed in Tallahassee for a few days and hung out with family. Something fun about TJ is that he loves doing things with other kids. He enjoyed swinging by himself, but swinging with cousin Rex was ten times the joy.

At one point during our visit Trent and TJ helped my dad cut down a couple of trees. Here is TJ and my dad taking a break after their hard work.

In other news, TJ has discovered a renewed love for baby food- both fruit and veggies. In my book, pureed veggies and fruit is about as healthy as it gets, so when TJ points to the cabinet that contains baby food and demands "bebe!" I put on his bib and let him have at it.

In even more interesting news, TJ and I have been gearing up for baby girl. You know, refinishing cradles, sorting baby clothes, and buying leashes to contain big brother. This right here is a picture of TJ and his new leash- a monkey backpack with a very long tail for me to hold onto so that he doesn't run out into the street, get lost in stores, etc. So far he loves it, but I myself am a bit embarrassed to actually use it.

And that's it folks. After Christmas we passed around a nasty cough/cold, but the weather has been warmer and we are happier than ever to be healthy again. TJ is a delightful little boy to be around (especially when he is healthy), and I feel very lucky to be his mom.

TJ's Eighteenth Month

2011-12-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

TJ turned 1.5 years old yesterday. He is growing up, that is for sure. This month he started trying to talk more than ever. He tries to repeat words when you ask him, but the first syllable is usually all you will get. Bless his heart, surely one day he will be more articulate. This month TJ went from being a big flirt (like he has been ever since he learned how to smile) to being a little turd- giving strangers a slight scowl before eventually, sometimes, warming up to them. I used to be embarrassed with how much attention he would draw in public by waving, smiling, and being friendly with strangers, but this new phase is far more awkward. I feel like I have to constantly explain that he does this to everyone (so that they won't take it personal). Thankfully he is still as sweet as ever to his parents and most people he is familiar with, always giving kisses and hugs and making us all feel special with his excitement to see us. Hopefully his unfriendly behavior towards strangers is just a (quickly) passing phase.

We were able to spend a couple weekends with my Dad in Tallahassee (my mom was out of town). While we were there we spent time with my brother, Alex, and his family. TJ loved drawing and getting taken care of by cousin Rylee.

For Thanksgiving this year we were able to take a week long trip out west. We first flew to Arizona and spent one day with my mom and sister. We then flew to Utah and spent six days with Trent's family before DRIVING Trent's mom's car back to Florida (which took three days).

During our layover in Miami we had the super fun surprise of running into one of my best friends from freshmen year at BYU, Brenda, and her husband and adorable little twin girls, Isabella and Ava.

Since we both had long layovers, we were able to sit down and eat lunch together while catching up on each other's lives. TJ was pretty excited about these adorable little girls. I'm hoping he might run into one of them in about 20 years.

Our long layover in Miami turned into an even longer layover, which cut into our already short time in Arizona, but it was still so nice to see my mom, sister, niece, and nephew. We tried to get a picture of TJ and Mason with their matching shirts, but this was the best we could do.

TJ always has a blast with Kalil, she is such a fun girl!

When we arrived to Utah, Trent's sister, Sabrina, was there with her children. These three-Adie, Chase, and TJ- played so well together. It was so much fun to watch them run around and be sweet to each other.

Trent didn't tell his dad, Gene, we were coming to Utah, so Trent brainstormed, and planned, and texted ideas with his sister beforehand, and they finally came up with a fun way to surprise their dad. It involved something along the lines of Adie bringing TJ to his door. But TJ fell asleep on the car ride over to Gene's house, so we had to come up with a last minute change of plan. Sabrina took her kids inside and told Gene there was a surprise in the car. When Gene went out to the car he saw sleeping TJ. Trent and I were hiding in some nearby bushes. It was great. Gene didn't know who the sleeping child was at first, and was confused, but once he figured it out Trent ran over and gave him a hug. I think it turned out to be a great surprise.

TJ has a new passion for trucks, trains, and buses. When he sees one while we are driving (which seems to be every two point five seconds) he gets all excited and points and repeats, "Truck! Truck!" or "Bus! Bus!" both with that familiar quiver of excitement as when saying "Ball!" Trent's step dad, Wes, drives a school bus for Salt Lake City School District so we took TJ and Chase, who also loves buses, down to the bus yard to see Wes and all the big school buses.

TJ even got to sit in the drivers seat, and Chase got to pull the horn. What a treat.

Trent's dad wanted to take the grand kids on a train ride, but due to illnesses we had to reschedule and scale back from the Frontrunner to the Trax. We met Gene downtown, hoped on the Trax, then walked a few blocks to the library. Adie wasn't feeling well so I pushed her in the stroller and TJ rode on her lap. The trip to the library was a fun adventure.

Trent's mom took her grandchildren to Wheeler Farm. TJ is still really into animals, so he had a blast.

All the cousins: Austin, Cameron, Adie, Camie, Chase, Kaitlyn, and TJ. Missing James, Braden, Bryson, and Parker.

Family photo on the farm.

Judy took all the grand kids to the city pool. I accidentally forgot my swimsuit, which was probably a good mistake to make when you are seven months preggo.

I also forgot TJ's but Debbie was kind enough to pick one up for him at the DI. After the pool we spent time with my cousins, Sally and Tice. As usual, it was a great time chatting with them, although I didn't take any pictures.

We were able to spend a little bit of time with Trent's friends on Thanksgiving morning. It was so good to see John and Emilee again, and I was able to meet Jeremy and his family for the first time.

We had a big Thanksgiving feast in Morgan at Trent's Aunt Kate's house. There was lots of good food and fun company.

TJ hit it off really well with all of Trent's mom's family. He instantly loved his Great Grandma Heiner.

When we got home we quickly switched gears to Christmas, first by going to see all the lights and blown up lawn ornaments placed around the pond at North Florida Regional Hospital. TJ's excitement for everything Christmas this year is making it even more fun for Trent and I.

We also put up our own tree(s) and Christmas decor.

TJ loved the Christmas balls and carefully helped hang them on the tree.

The most anticipated change for TJ's eighteenth month was him moving up to nursery at church. We have been looking forward and counting down to this momentous occasion ever since TJ started walking. Six months of anticipation, folks. As such, we expected it to be a big deal, you know, where the nursery workers welcomed him in with open arms and he cries because he doesn't want his parents to leave. Nope. TJ just ran right in and started playing with the toys. No one noticed he was there and TJ definitely didn't take notice of Trent and I leaving, despite us pulling out the camera phone to take pictures and us yelling, "Bye TJ! Have fun! Be a good boy!"

What a "good boy" he is. I find myself saying this over and over throughout the day when he listens and obeys. When Trent gets home I hear him say the same thing over and over to TJ as well. We are both so proud of TJ and the sweet, obedient little boy that he is.

You know you're nearing the end of your pregnancy...

2011-11-16T09:19:00.004-05:00

when your husband comes home to find you with wet hair, wearing your oldest pair of blue jeans and a plain white shirt, and asks, "what are you getting all dressed up for?"

My reply was, "ummmm..." as I did a mental recap of the last 6 months and realized that showering and getting dressed in general were becoming increasingly rare.

Besides poor hygiene, here are a few more updates on this pregnancy-

- While baby girl used to rarely ever move/kick, she turned a new leaf a few days ago and has been jumping and a jiving ever since.

- They say towards the end of your pregnancy you start "nesting." I think this began for me at the very beginning of this pregnancy when we decided we would stay in our little two bedroom town home. I have been trying to deep clean, organize, and make room for baby girl ever since.

- When I was pregnant with TJ I put a lot of thought into eating healthy, preparing healthy meals, etc. Nowadays I put a lot of thought into making sure the whole family eats. Unfortunately, it's not always healthy.

- My doctor gave me the go ahead to continue working out and playing volleyball until my due date. Working out at the gym is going well, but playing volleyball is becoming a bit much. I played last night and have been wobbling around ever since.

- I was having a lot of pain earlier in my pregnancy but it kinda just randomly went away (until today, after playing volleyball). My friend, Angela, gave me the advice to use the elliptical, so I tried it, and love it. It feels like a good workout but it doesn't hurt like lots of walking/running does for me.

-Now that I am feeling little miss thing move around, I am liking this pregnancy more and more. Feeling the baby move is the best.

- Here I am at 27.2 weeks preggo:

Oh wait, that was when I was 27.2 weeks preggo with TJ. I'm over 27.2 weeks preggo with baby girl and have yet to take a single belly shot. But I should so that I can compare it to the picture above, and then cry myself to sleep. I have gained the same amount of weight to date as my last pregnancy, but last time it was isolated in my belly. This time my baby has shown herself in my arms, legs, back, face, etc.

-I was about to publish this post, but then Trent read it over and said I should add a for real belly shot from this pregnancy... so there you have it... my very first side view picture of this pregnancy. 27.5 weeks along.

-TJ wanted in on the photobooth fun so I picked him up for one picture. He got all excited when he saw himself on the computer screen and kept saying, "TJ! TJ!"

-A few months ago TJ began putting "baby sister" and "belly" together. He gives baby girl kisses by kissing my belly and shares things with her by placing them on my belly. One time, he put my cell phone on my belly, baby girl instantly moved, and you could see the cell phone bounce up. I told TJ, "Baby Sister just kicked the cell phone!" TJ then stood up and used my belly as a tee and the cell phone as his ball and kicked that thing right off my belly. He thought it was so fun and wanted to do it again, I however, was not comfortable with him kicking at my belly.

- I am dying to see what she looks like.

- We are pretty certain we will use my grandma's middle name (which is also my middle name), Rose, as her middle name. Our favorite first name to go with it is "Ayla." There are so many cute girl names too choose from. I narrowed my list down to about six names that I liked with Rose and Trent and I discussed each one and decided Ayla was the easy winner. We really like the name, but if you have a better idea let us know- we still have a few months to change our mind :)

TJ's Seventeenth Month

2011-11-05T21:30:00.014-04:00

TJ is seventeen months old now and is just the sweetest little thing. He loves reading books, playing with balls, being outside, and recently- his mama. He has always been a daddy's boy but lately he has been a little more attached to me. Probably his favorite thing to do is help (throw away trash, feed my mom's dog, flush the toilet, take dirty diapers to the trash can outside, unload/load the dishwasher, pick things up, bring things to you, or anything you ask him to do). He always gets a big smile on his face when he gets to help and gets the praises from it. He also loves to share toys and food with friends (especially when he gets to put the food directly in your mouth). I am loving this age.

My mom came down to visit and to work on crafts. TJ got to play outside while we cut burlap.

Even with my mom's help we couldn't get TJ to look at the camera to snap a decent picture.

TJ was really interested in the Christmas tree balls we were making, he didn't want much to do with the burlap, but he wanted everything to do with the balls. I'm not sure how we are going to manage his ball obsession when it comes time to put up and decorate a Christmas tree.

The ambulance and fire truck have been making frequent trips to our neighborhood to help an elderly neighbor. TJ loves hearing sirens around town, but when they come into our neighborhood he gets especially excited. He stands on his bed and looks out the window until they are gone. While my mom was here she took him out to get an even better view. But standing on the fire truck was a little too close for comfort.

And sitting on the fireman's seat was much, much too close.

We went to a family night at Gainesville Health and Fitness and TJ got to compete in games, like sac racing. Free shirts were given out to the winners, the losers, and the people like me, who just assisted their child in losing.

TJ got his face painted for the first time.

And he got a prize from the Queen and King. He picked the bouncy soccer ball.

We went to Chick-fil-a on one of their little Tuesday family nights and TJ had a blast.

For Halloween TJ dressed up as Batman and Trent dressed up as Robin. Here they are at the church's Halloween activity.

After eating chili we headed out to the parking lot for some trunk-or-treating.

Here they are after the trunk-or-treat. TJ was loving his lollipop.

During Trent's fall break we headed down to Orlando and did a swap-a-roo with TJ at the temple.

We stayed at our favorite hotel- the Rosen Shingle Creek. Priceline pulled through once again. If you are ever looking for a good deal down in Orlando, go to priceline.com, choose 4 star and above, I-drive South area, with a golf course, and name your price as low as you want- we did $49. They have always given us the Rosen Shingle Creek or the Rosen Plaza. Both are nice.

We went to downtown Disney where Trent took TJ on his first train ride.

On our way home from Orlando we went to a pumpkin patch in Ocala.

TJ got to pet horses,

Run through a corn maze,

Go on a hayride,

Play in a bathtub full of corn,

Feed donkeys,

Pick out a pumpkin,

Try to pick up every pumpkin in the patch,

And spend time with Dad.

When we got home TJ helped me carve our pumpkin. We did the batman symbol, of course.

On Halloween night we all got dressed up again and went trick-or-treating with the Sirmans family. I was a pregnant version of Catwoman.

TJ had so much fun running door to door with Julian.

Here is TJ with Julian, the horse.

And here we are after trick-or-treating. I wish we would have taken a big group shot with Kim and Stace.

TJ is getting so tall- he can reach things off the kitchen counter now- including this burnt cupcake I made for a girls night. I couldn't figure out why he was crying, except that maybe it didn't taste good?

I am so over this pregnancy, and ready to be done being pregnant. We all know that. But I would give being 6 months pregnant forever if I could keep TJ the exact same way that he is now! Have I mentioned I am loving this age?

TJ's Sixteenth Month

2011-10-10T09:34:00.015-04:00

TJ is one active little child.

Always going one hundred miles per hour.
With no slow down button.
He's into everything.
And loves to make messes.
He's independent.
Energetic.
All boy.
100% Wild Savage.

Every month seems to go by faster and faster. TJ's sixteenth month was no exception. We didn't take a ton of pictures, but we were able to capture some of his favorite things:

Grapes. And all other fruit that resembles a ball. They are all conveniently located in the fridge drawer at his eye level, so he always tries to sneak a handful when the fridge door is open.

Putting on other people's shoes. He thinks he is something else in a pair of shoes that are too big for him.

Putting on other people's hats.

Playing with cousins. Playing in the dirt. And he certainly loves to wear nothing but the diaper.

Reading books. He especially likes how Elaine reads them.

Balloons. The color pink. And of course Julian. I'm pretty sure those were the only things he noticed when we went to visit Ella Grace in the hospital. Yep, looking back, I don't think he even noticed Ella Grace.

His "girlfriend." Anytime we go outside he has to run over to the neighbors' front doorstep and say, "hello" to his favorite girl with a blue bonnet. The frequent hellos turned into frequent kisses, and now, Blue Bonnet is officially his "girlfriend."

Sitting on high stools.

Eating yummy melon. Or any food for that matter.

And licking the bowl clean.

Imitating his daddy. If Daddy has a tray table then certainly TJ needs one too.

Riding in his stroller. And people watching. What better place than at a gator pregame festival?

Water. He loves to drink it, play in it, and splash himself in the face with it. We went outside to clean out the fishbowl but TJ decided it was more fun to hose himself down.

Kaeme. TJ loves when my mom comes down to visit because she gives him lots of attention.

He also loves animals-- our pet fish, looking out the window at the birds and squirrels, all of our neighbor's and friend's dogs, my mom's bunny, and especially my mom's little dog, Anna. He loves stuffed animals too. He usually has one tucked under his arm, like a little side-kick, as he runs around the house making messes. He is a handful, but he is a sweet one.

Oh TJ, thank you for making life so delicious!

Father and Son

2011-09-28T14:12:00.007-04:00

Today Julian came over to play with TJ while his new baby sister had her pictures taken.

I sat on the couch and casually punched holes in foam while simultaneously absorbing the sight and sound of these two playing. They would giggle as they ran from activity to activity, first playing in the curtains, then chasing each other into the dining room, then onto the fireplace, etc. until Julian says, "Okay, now it's BASKETBALL time!" They run, TJ just two pitter-patters behind Julian, over to the basketball hoop in the corner of the room where they try their hardest to shoot a ball through the hoop without either of them ever having success. But they keep trying. Until Julian sits down with a book and TJ attempts to sit in his lap. He backs his little booty into Julians face, then takes a seat right on top of Julian's lap. That's when I think to myself, my child truly thinks he has two fathers. He LOVES sitting in Trent's lap to read books (and when given the option at bedtime, he always chooses Trent's lap over mine).

A while back, Kim put on her blog a list of funny things Julian had said, one of them being, "come back, Son!" a comment directed at TJ when we were leaving their house.

Certainly the father-son relationship goes both ways.

Father left, Son went straight to sleep, and I was able to finish my hole punching. The finished product was 28 sets of these:

And a carpet full of fun foam confetti!

A friend had the fun idea of doing a "Busy Bag" Swap just like the idea found here. I signed up to do the Foam Lacing Cards. Now I need to drop these little foam shapes into 28 different ziploc bags along with some lacing string, take them to the swapping party, and we all go home with 28 ziploc bags filled with different activities to keep our toddlers busy. Since I still have 20 weeks before receiving my Golden Ticket to Happiness, I have to do everything I can think of that makes me happy. Crafting seems to work. Watching Father and Son play was just a bonus.

forget-me-not

2011-09-26T21:52:00.001-04:00

A month or two ago I was talking to a girlfriend on the phone about some advice she had recently received. Part of the advice was to not wait until {blank} occurs to be happy. The blank could be filled in with marriage, conception of a child, owning a house, getting a new car, etc. I have thought about my friend's advice often since she first shared it with me, and have related it to many aspects of my life and others'. On Saturday night, I heard a fabulous talk by President Uchtdorf, which is summarized here, where he also discusses avoiding the golden ticket to happiness with an analogy of the forget-me-not flower. I was going back and forth on sharing this on my blog, because let's be honest, I never talk about church stuff on here, but I can't stop thinking about this talk, it is simply fabulous. AND THEN I went to a funeral last night and the building where it was held is surrounded by all these little, blue, forget-me-not flowers. So onto the blog I go, but I can't stop typing with just that.

I have to include a little confession-session.

What is MY {blank}?

{This pregnancy with baby #2}

It is incredible how different one pregnancy can be from another. Maybe it's because it's my second, maybe it's because it's a different gender, I don't know.

But I do know this:

1. My baby bump was showing before I even knew I was pregnant (about 18 weeks sooner than with TJ)

2. My emotions have been out of control (don't remember it being this bad with TJ)

3. I can barely walk and I'm only 20 weeks along (I ran or walked my entire pregnancy with TJ, no problem)

4. The first trimester sickness was different (probably for the better) than last

5. None of the same cravings

6. I'm still not convinced that I have felt this baby girl move (by 20 weeks TJ was kicking all day long, and I was loving it)!

Trying to convince myself that I can be happy during this pregnancy (because heaven knows it's not gonna be any easier once she is born).

Now it sounds like I am complaining!! Just outlining the differences between my two pregnancies.

And although I am joking a lot in this post, I'm not joking when I say that I am already in love with this little baby girl that I have yet to see, and I know she will be worth 20 more weeks of anything.

TJ's Fifthteenth Month + News

2011-09-09T13:57:00.000-04:00

TJ's fifteenth month has been wonderful. His whiny phase came to a quick halt, and was replaced with fantastic sleeping patterns, a happier toddler, and a happier mom. He seems to be learning new things at record speed and appears to understand everything I say to him. My favorite thing about this month is his newly acquired skill of hugging! It is the best. I ask for about 50 a day, and sometimes he sneaks in a few without being asked :) We just had a doctor's appointment today and they say our chubby little boy is thinning out- 75th percentile for height and 53 percentile for weight.

Trent had a one week summer break in August so we took full advantage and vacationed in Destin.

[TJ loves the beach, but he might love the showering-off-after-the-beach even more.]

[We shared a Little Caesar's Pizza at Desin Commons while TJ played.]

[We all took turns burying each other at Miramar Beach.]

[TJ thought being buried was pretty fun.]

[Priceline hooked us up with a fabulous deal at the Courtyard Marriott in Sandestin. TJ's need for a fridge hooked us up with a two bedroom king suite upgrade for free.]

[We rode over to Pensacola beach to see Trent's friend from Utah, Christian, who is in Air Force training.]

[TJ slept like a champ the whole week. Eleven or Twelve hours at night and a nice two hour nap everyday at the beach, thanks to the bottle. After that week was over we took away the bottle cold turkey- but it hasn't seemed to disrupt his good sleeping patterns.]

[We spent several evenings at the Destin Outlet Mall scooping up end-of-summer deals. TJ loved the playground there, too]

[Trent was probably seeing if TJ could do a pull up]

[There were lots of fun families to play with at the beach. This little girl came up while I was trying to get a picture of TJ. She sat down next to him and said she likes to get her picture taken too!]

[There was yet another playground just down the road from our hotel at the Baytowne Warf. TJ was loving this big red swing.]

[At the top of a small slide in the toddler section of the park.]

Trent: Should I go down the slide with him? Or will he be okay to go down by himself?

Amelia: Trent, he's been down a million slides before, he will be fine.

[Or not.]

[More swinging with Daddy.]

[We spent our last day at Panama City Beach by the Pier.]

[By the end of the week he was posing for the camera!]

[And that concludes our trip to the beach.]

[We spent the next day at my parent's house before heading home. We love playing in their pool.]
[Every time I am in Tallahassee my mom will spend several hours every day playing with the grandkids out in the pool. After a while, I'll go inside and take a nap and when I wake up she is still out in the pool with the grandkids.]

[Someone remembered his "touchdown!" trick from earlier this year and is super excited about football season!]

[We took that little someone down to the fan festival before UF's first game of the year to walk around and pick up some free stuff.]

[We had gatorzone.com take a family shot of us with TJ wearing a UF helmet. I think it would have been a cute picture, had they not lost our batch and/or never uploaded it to their website for us to view. This was the helmet, but he was over the excitement of wearing it by the time Trent took this picture.]

[Taking a break at Dunkin' Donuts to watch the second quarter of the BYU game]

Lastly, the "News":

[Trent's friend from dental school, Kevin, gave us this little gloworm baby a while back. Recently TJ has been loving it.]

[Maybe he is just trying to get in some practice before his BABY SISTER comes in February!]

TJ's Fourteeth Month

2011-08-06T19:52:00.014-04:00

In order to stay positive I have to think way back to the beginning of TJ's fourteenth month. The month started out great. Our only setback early on was making the transition from two naps to one. We finally jumped that hurdle, and then we were given an even greater one: teething of the molars. This has led to lots of whining and lots of screaming in the middle of the night. Poor TJ. Poor me. haha. But those big ol' molars are mostly in and I can already see my sweet little TJ starting to come back into my life :) With out further ado, here are some pictures from the month, in chronological order:

Mikhael brought Blake over to play in the sprinkler and in TJ's new baby pool (thanks Amanda for the awesome birthday present).

They were both hesitant to get in the pool so I think we ended up just throwing them in. And somehow we managed to get this cute picture of Blake before she climbed out.

I love this picture of Blake dancing in the sprinker, while TJ sneaks in a few sips from her cup. Awesome.

Third Annual Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A with the Sirmans. So fun, and so worth it. TJ even got free food this year- a 12 piece chicken nugget meal. What a deal.

I love this picture of Julian- what a sweet little boy. I love that he and TJ play so well together. After eating/playing at Chick-Fil-A, they were able to have their first spend the night party at Kim's house! Thanks so much Kim and Stace!

The next weekend we went out to Chiefland to watch Trent compete in a three-on-three basketball tournament.

TJ was in heaven with all the balls, the trouble was trying to keep him off the court while games were going on.

Always finding something to get into.

That evening, Trent had the idea of taking TJ to an arcade, specifically to play ski-ball. It was such a blast. We only had one dollar bill to spend on tokens, which gave Trent and I two games each. With TJ helping on the side, we were doing horribly, but the particular machine that we were on must have been broken because twice (once for me and once for Trent) it spit out 100 tickets, and told us we had reached a top score?? We took our 210 tickets to the booth and got TJ a new yellow ball and a piece of candy for Trent and I. Success.

TJ has showed an increased interest in books this month. For a while his favorite book was this Crocodile book that my mom gave him.
Another favorite (with all the fun flip-ups) is his Spot books from the Sirmans. His current favorite is some random book called, "Fish Wish." I don't even know where it came from, I think it came in a bin of books I bought at a yard sale before he was born. It doesn't have thick pages so it's harder for him to turn, but he loves looking at the bright pictures and pointing out all the creatures.

We took a trip down to Fort Myers to visit a friend. TJ was getting a bit fussy on the way down so we stopped at a CVS to change his diaper. Across the street there was a bunch of cows fenced up. Random. But it was so worth it to pull over- TJ loved seeing the cows up close and in person. I am now anxious to take him to the zoo.

We went to the beach- Sanibel Island the first day...

And Anna Maria Island the next. As you can see from the pictures Sanibel was much less crowded, which was nice, but the water was not nearly as clear as Anna Maria. TJ loved chasing the birds at both.

Just like his dad- can't get enough of the beach.

My mom invited TJ and I to take a trip up to Beaufort (an Island in South Carolina just north of Savanah/Hilton Head) for a few days to visit an old friend. It was a beautiful trip. We stayed at the Beaufort Inn- an adorable Bed and Breakfast right in the middle of historic downtown.

We tried to take pictures of TJ as he explored the hotel. But getting him to look at the camera is impossible.

Here is my mom showing TJ the wall made out of oyster shells.

Beautiful green hydrangeas outside of our room. The Inn was made up of several buildings. We stayed in the "Carriage House," which I will interpret as "garage." Of course they fixed it up all nice, and it was quite convenient having our separate house so that TJ couldn't disturb anyone else's stay.

The first evening we spent with my mom's friend, Joan, and her two daughters, Lauren and Hannah. We walked around the town and ate dinner by the river. The next day Joan took us on a tour of the town and then we went to her parents house which is where this picture was taken of Hannah taking TJ for a drive on the golf cart. Joan's mom treated us to a huge, homemade, straight-from-the-garden, southern dinner. It was amazing. But we definitely ate too much which left us feeling bad the rest of the trip.

TJ has been quite the monkey lately. He likes to climb on and off the couch, and he recently has sucessfully attempted (while I nervously watched 2 inches away) climbing over the couch and onto the side table, and also over the back of the couch onto his highchair. He also likes to climb over the back of our futon and into this bay window area:
Here he is with an "uh-oh" look after being caught making a mess of things in the window area.
Of course he quickly escapes the scene of the incident so that no one will know it was him. Notice the magazines all strewn about and the lamp falling over. He is a mess.

We ended off the month with a rafting trip down the Itchnetuckne. TJ made it slightly less relaxing than usual, but we certainly enjoyed the adventure. Mostly I think TJ liked running around the trails (that lead to the water) with his life jacket on.

Here we are just before un-tying our raft and hitting the spring.

We were worried that he wouldn't like his life jacket, but he absolutely loved it! He kept beating his padded chest with a cheek-to-cheek grin.

Earlier this month, TJ saw me taking groceries in from the front room back to the kitchen. So he grabbed a bag himself and drug it into the kitchen. I said, "Oh, TJ, thank you so much!" and he turned around, ran and got another bag, and drug it to me, until, one-by-one, he had brought all the bags into the kitchen. He made me so proud that day. We love our adventuresome, often defiant, occasionally whiny, adorable little boy, more than words can say.

TJ's Thirteenth Month

2011-07-06T13:38:00.002-04:00

TJ had another fun month. It started out with his big basketball themed birthday party at the gazebo area in our neighborhood.

I know I have mentioned it a time or two on this blog, but he really is totally obsessed with balls.

He can spot a ball a mile away, and once he sees it he wants it.

And then he points and says, "bahhahahall" with a little quiver of excitement in his voice.

He used to be really good at catching but now he doesn't like to catch, but loves to throw and fetch, and just recently learned how to kick.

Here are some pictures from his party

We started out with games and food outside then went inside for cake and presents.

TJ had caught a bug a few days before his party and was still recovering the day of his party. He wasn't his usual happy self.

But he still did a great job demolishing his bithday cake.

Once he started flinging it across the room we decided it was time to be done with that.

After bathing off all the orange icing, TJ opened presents. Once he opened a present that contained a new blue ball he was pretty much done opening presents and just wanted to play with his new ball. Thank you everyone for all of your generous gifts.

TJ was so lucky to have all of his cousin's on my side of the family come! Stevie came up from Orlando on his way home to Jacksonville; Warner, Rylee, and Rex came down from Tallahassee; and Kalil and Mason came all the way from Arizona.

Here is the whole family minus Ryker.

Even Meme and Lee came down from Georgia. Thank you everyone for making TJ feel so special.

TJ's next party was when Grandma Judy came from Utah to visit.

The weekend she flew in we went down to Tampa and stayed two nights. The first day we went to Caladesi Island. Here is TJ with Grandma Judy.

A recreation of a photo that was hanging up at our hotel.

That night we went to Red Robin.

TJ walking around with his ballon and his new flip flops from Grandma Heiner.

The next day, which happened to be Father's Day, we went to Clearwater Beach.

TJ loves to be chased, especially by Daddy.

Trent and TJ in their matching Father's Day outfits.

The next weekend Wes came down and he and Trent were supposed to go deep sea fishing with my dad but the weather didn't end up allowing that. So we all went to Wakulla Springs instead.

Here are some of us on the Wakulla Springs boat ride.

For the Forth of July my parent tooks Amanda down to Tampa to catch her flight back to Arizona. Trent and I drove down and met them and we all went to Siesta Key for the day. Unfortunately I only took two pictures:

This was CrAzY- An Isuzu Hombre, same color, same missing hubcap as ours, with a self made plywood storage unit on back- JUST LIKE OURS. Parked at the restaurant next to our hotel in Tampa. Look familiar?

We went to Siesta Key park at nine in the morning to get the last parking spot, then we walked a little ways down the beach to claim our own spacious spot. But this was the only picture I have- TJ digging into the leftover chicken nachos.

And here are some bonus pictures...

After turning one, TJ was allowed to have his first cup of real cows milk. TJ loves milk.

When TJ was napping one afternoon I peaked my head in to check on him and I saw him sleeping with his naked bum sticking up in the air. I ran and got the camera but by the time I got back he had already awoken and was standing up with a look like "why are you taking a picture of this?"

TJ loves spaghetti. Despite his huge-as-usual-apetite, he appears to be slimming down. It must be his new interest in walking and running.

TJ's latest craze has been toothbrushes. We bought him a baby toothbrush (in his right hand) which he loved, but then we gave him his own adult sized toothbrush and he is obsessed. One thing is for sure- he knows how to make his daddy proud.

5th Anniversary

2011-07-05T16:56:00.006-04:00

In May (am I seriously 2 months behind?!) Trent and I celebrated our 5th year of being married. To me, that sounded like a great excuse to return to Amelia Island where we began our honeymoon back in 2006.

May 2006

Five years later. Five years frumpier.

We went out to dinner at the Crab Trap, just like last time.

We also borrowed some rafts from my parents and played with them in the waves.

We had a blast in Amelia Island, but we missed our baby like crazy. We thought it was a big deal that we had been married for five years, but the bigger deal ended up being TJ staying with his very first overnight babysitter!

My parents took TJ, Rex, and Warner outside to play in the dirt and eat watermelon.

From the looks of these pictures taken while we were gone, I don't think we were missed at all.

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching TJ!

TJ's Twelfth Month

2011-06-12T22:08:00.002-04:00

TJ turned one year old this month! He is no longer our little baby, but rather our little toddler on the run. He loves beaches, balls, being outside, and exploring. Not too much new this month, except that he's walking. He is still our sweet little boy who we love to death. TJ's twelfth month was a fun one since Trent has had lots of time off from school and we took lots of trips.

TJ's first trip of the month was spent in Daytona with the Sirmans to celebrate Stace and Trent's completion of their first two years of grad school. Two down and only two more to go...

TJ and Julian were so cute playing together in the sand.

Trent and Stace tossed the ball while the little boys played and the girls chatted/took pictures.

TJ loves to eat sand.

Kim and Stace even took a little family picture of us on the beach. Still can't thank them enough for bringing their camera since we completely forgot ours.

After spending a couple days at the beach we decided to hit up the local water park since mom's get in for free on Mother's day and Trent had a free pass too.

As a side note, TJ took his very first half micro step to me. On Mother's day.

The next week TJ and I took a road trip up to Williamsburg, VA with my parents.

We drove through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, before making it to Virgina. I was so worried about the 15 hour drive with TJ, but he did amazing.

We came prepared with a DVD player, checked out DVDs and books from the library, and of course lots of snacks and formula. When he wasn't sleeping, my mom was back there entertaining him, since, let's be honest, she's better at that than me.

Before making it to Virgina, we stopped at a little country store in North Carolina. We got to see lots of tractors, sit on tractors, take pictures with tractor wheels, and even eat ice cream churned by a tractor???

Colonial Williamsburg was...well... interesting. I can't think of the right word to describe it. This little town reminds us of what it was like to live a long time ago. My mom made the whole trip much more interesting by just being my mom. Here she is quenching this poor horse's thirst.

My dad made the trip more interesting by filling us in on all the history that we either a) weren't taught or b) forgot.

Photo opportunity in the flowers with a little confederate flag in the background.

Another picture taken by my mom the photographer outside of a church in Colonial Williamsburg.

Another shot in Colonial Williamsburg.

My mom bought one of these head tickler things at one of the shops in Williamsburg. TJs reaction was priceless- everytime he would shrivel up and giggle like crazy.

After spending a day in Williamsburg we were ready to venture out into the big city. We were headed to the nation's capitol, a trip my parent's promised to take me on ever since I missed the school trip in 8th grade.

When we first parked in DC and were walking towards the Capitol building from Union Station we stopped at every site on the way and said something along the lines of, "Oh! The Russell Senate Office building! We have to get a picture!" This slowly faded and we picked up the pace, making it through the national mall in about 5 hours.

Never in my life have I seen more police, than here in DC. They were friendly, gave out stickers, and even smiled for pictures. But even more importantly, they were always there to give us directions. And protect our nation's capitol.

Chasing TJ around the Capitol.

Sitting here on Capitol Hill.

Walking around the WWII Memorial.

He really wanted to take a dip in the pool of water which happened to be surrounded by tons of little signs that ask you to respect the monument by not getting in the water.

TJ did so good all day as we strolled from sight to sight. It was a long day but he didn't ever complain- he just took a nap when he got tired.

My mom's photographic masterpiece- reflections at the Vietnam Memorial wall. Engraved are all the names of those who died during the war.

Last stop: Arlington National Cemetery. It was here that we learned about an $80 tour bus that takes you to all the stops in DC and throughout the cemetery. Wish we would have stopped here first.

On our way back to Williamsburg we drove by the DC temple where my parents were sealed 30 years ago. Like all other pictures of the DC temple, this one with my parents in front just doesn't do the size justice. I was shocked by how enormous this temple is.

Williamsburg is in between Yorktown and Jamestown. Think: Pocahontas and John Smith. Except she didn't really marry John Smith- she married John Rolfe. We spent one day each visiting these towns.

Tickling TJ in Pocahontas' church. She was converted to Christianity you know...

TJ with a cannon protecting the fort where Pocahotas lived

Walking next to the fort.

Trying to get into another memorial pool, this time in Jamestown.

We took a ferry from Jamestown to Williamsburg.

TJ and I flew home from DC to Orlando. Before heading out we met up with my cousin at the Holocaust Museum. It's a shame I don't have any pictures of a) TJ screaming his head off at the museum or b) me trying to keep TJ on my lap and off the man and woman we were squished in between for the two hour flight. It could have served as a reminder to never fly again with TJ and without Trent.

Trent picked us up in Orlando and took us to Siesta Key Beach. It was beautiful.

TJ played while Trent and I took turns laying out.

And then TJ fell asleep and we both got to lay out. Beautiful.

When we got home a few friends and I took our babies to the splash park.

This was our attempt at getting a group shot of the kids. Fail.

And Trent and I took a few trips to the pool with TJ.

Memorial day weekend we took a family trip to St. Pete Beach.

We stayed at the Island Grand Resort thanks to a super hotwire hookup.

We got there early enough Monday to have a whole day at the beach before officially checking in, then packed a lunch the next day in order to have another full day at the beach before heading home.

TJ enjoys the gulf water because it's warmer with fewer waves.

And he always enjoys a hole to climb in and out of.

Trent and I played volleyball while TJ refereed.

We finished off the month with an Anniversary trip for Trent and I... more on that later.

TJ's Eleventh Month

2011-05-09T20:19:00.011-04:00

If you have a baby, you may agree that the most commonly asked question when you take your baby out in public is, "how old is he/she?" I about cried yesterday when I had to respond, "eleven months." TJ is growing up fast. A little too fast for this sappy mom.

When I think back on TJ's eleventh month, the first thing that comes to mind is balls. Sometime at the beginning of the month he learned how to say "ball," and hasn't stopped saying it ever since. He loves playing catch, and is surprisingly good at the catching part, but surprisingly bad at the throwing part. He likes to pump fake his throws, until eventually it drops out of his hand and rolls towards you. When I put him in his car seat he cries, "ball! ball!" but when he has a ball in his hands he is pretty much content. While most babies hug stuffed animals and other soft items, TJ is often found hunkering over a ball, hugging it. In summary, TJ is obsessed with balls.

Hugging daddy's football.

At the beginning of April he learned how to stand on his own, but it wasn't until yesterday that he took his first micro steps. He seems very frightened by the idea of walking without holding onto something, so he usually keeps a good grip on the couch, or his walker, or just crawls, to make his way around.

We took a fun little one day trip to our closest beach, Cedar Key. Despite the nasty-nast water, it was delightful.

It even had a nice park with swings and a basketball hoop right on the beach. Trent shot some hoops with this random kid who's name was also TJ. He was a little baller.

Our little TJ played with his ball in the sand.

Kim and I ran into Publix to grab some groceries one day and the boys had a hoot holding onto the wheel in the grocery cart car.

A few friends took our babies to the splash park in Alachua for a fun play group.

TJ loved it.

yep.

TJ had an extra special treat this month- Julian and fam spent the night for a few nights in the middle of their move.

The boys had so much fun playing on the stairs.

And on the fireplace. I just love watching them play together- they are so cute.

My mom bought TJ some alphabet magnets and TJ loved pulling them off the metal closet door and flinging them all over the room.

The story behind this sentence, "TJ likes steak," is that Trent took TJ to a steakhouse with Stace and Julian while Kim and I were out of town. Trent gave TJ steak for the first time. He of course loved it. He loves his meat, that is for sure.

After we take TJ out of the bath we let him crawl around for a minute before we put his diaper on. He giggles for the entire minute straight. And then I start to worry that he will pee so I throw the diaper on. Here he is with his shark towel which is pretty awesome because it doesn't come off when he crawls around.

Peace out y'all.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:37:00.003-04:00

TJ found an Easter basket on the fireplace after church today

Discovery:

Playing:

The aftermath:

TJ's Tenth Month

2011-04-06T12:29:00.004-04:00

Here is a glimpse of what TJ has been up to during his tenth month:

Going on walks

Sometimes we get a little stir crazy after playing in doors for too long so we pack up and take a stroll down the street. It doesn't matter the destination, it's the walk that TJ likes the most.

Climbing stairs

One of TJ's favorite places to play is on the stairs. Despite the fact that we have a gate at the top and the bottom, somehow TJ always knows when we forget to shut one and he quickly crawls over to do some climbing. So far he only knows how to go up, although we are working on teaching him how to go down backwards.

Doing tricks
We are also teaching him how to keep his hands up on defense. I joke of course, what he is actually doing is "Touchdown!" which was his favorite trick of the month. Another trick he learned this month is "high five" and how to shoot a basket.

Beach/pool trips
We took our first beach trip of the year to Jacksonville Beach to meet up with my mom who was spending the day with Stevie.

TJ and Stevie loved feeding the seagulls.

And they loved playing in the sand pit.

At one point TJ even tried to drink the water/mud, just like he occasionally does in his bath tub. I thought the bath water was gross enough, but this has got to be much, much worse.

He also enjoyed playing in the ocean.

Until a big wave came and almost swept him away!

Don't worry, I was right there to save him :)

It was a very fun, relaxing day at the beach. I love how Stevie helped push the little red wagon all the way back to his home.

Trips to the park

Irene and Starleigh introduced TJ and I to a new park that we had never been to near their house.

This is Irene with her adorable baby number two, Damon.

And here is Sawyer and Christian, the big boys that TJ wants to be like.

Many, many baths
TJ continues to love bath time. But what's even better than a bath by yourself? A bath with your best bud, Julian, of course! They had so much fun splashing around together.

It is crazy to me how close in size they are getting, even though Julian is 6 months older. That gap seemed huge at first, but now that they are in the same size clothes, diapers, etc. they seem so close.

Eating

TJ is still a great eater, except now he can feed him self. Trent watched TJ while I went to a baby shower earlier this week and for dinner Trent gave TJ a bowl of macaroni and cheese on the floor and let him have at it. He actually does a pretty good job at feeding himself without making too much of a mess.

Spending time with Grandparents
My parents came down for conference weekend and helped me do some painting and rake my back yard. Of course TJ and my mom's dog, Anna, were right in the middle of it all.

He is all boy. Loves to be dirty.

My dad with his little Buddha.

TJ continues to make us happier than ever. He is a really good baby with a very full personality. This past month has been easier for me because he fell into a good sleeping routine, with two, two hour naps and 10-12 blissful hours of continuous sleep at night. It seems that trend was only for his tenth month because the last couple days he was up and ready to party before the sun. Boo.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T18:18:00.002-04:00

TJ's Ninth Month

2011-03-06T19:07:00.012-05:00

TJ turned 9 months old today. It is crazy how quickly this little guy of ours is growing up. To illustrate, here are some pictures of the big boy things TJ is learning how to do:

-Throw temper tantrums when he is done eating

TJ learned how to shake his head no when he is finished eating. If you try to offer just one more spoonful he might give you a mini tantrum in response. For a second, I thought our little 8 month old was going on the terrible 2 years rather than the easy 9 months that he was supposed to be. Turns out he was just feeling terrible and when he has a fever he doesn't have an appetite.

-Use sippy cups to drink water and milkTJ does great with sippy cups. It works better than a bottle for his style of "drinking on the go". He sips for a second, then plays with the nearest toy in sight. Five seconds later he's back to the sippy cup. Repeat, and repeat.

-Wear big boy ties to churchI woke up last Sunday with the idea of making a tie for TJ out of the tuxedo tie Trent wore when we got married. A few cuts and stitches later, and TJ had his very first tie to match Daddy!

-Unload the dishwasherIf you remember, last month it became my goal to teach TJ how to help do the dishes. Turns out- he is no good. He has to taste each utensil before unloading it, and rather than putting them in the proper drawer, he just chucks them on the floor. Loading? Forget about it.

-Walk with his walker

I have a video of this but I can't figure out how to upload it and/or crop out all the boring parts. I did manage to upload the whole 3 minute version to youtube... if you are interested in seeing it maybe there is a way of searching for a specific username- mine is thewildsavages, and the video is called TJ with walker.

Despite the fact that TJ had another ear infection this month, topped off with several fevers and a lingering cough, not to mention a painful allergy test...

we still managed to have lots of fun. We took as many walks as possible to soak up the perfect weather, and by the end of February we were enjoying the pool with Mikheal across the street.

He wanted to get in the water so bad, but his facial expression shows how much he liked the cold water on his toes.

TJ and I also hitched a ride up to Tallahassee with Kim (thanks girl!) and we were able to spend some quality time with grandparents and cousins:

Watching TV with Uncle Alex and Warner

TJ got to attend his first basketball game- Warner's YMCA league of 5 year olds. TJ was clapping for him the whole time and loving it! To see some of Warner's sweet moves, check out my sister-in-law's blog here.

TJ loved spending time with Kaeme and Papa. Kaeme taught TJ how to blow bubbles in the bath tub. This little boy loves the water, I can't wait for the pool water to warm up because I'm pretty sure he's going to love it.
TJ even got some one-on-one time with Papa when my mom and I went out shopping. My dad said he liked to swing with him- so cute! Just before we left my dad took him out for one last swing so that I could pack up. Just a few minutes after I took this picture they were both fast asleep.

Trent's spring break just began. We were able to kick off the week with an all you can eat pancake breakfast at Steak n' Shake. TJ even got to try some pancakes as part of his free meal. Wohoo!

We didn't take a ton of pictures this month (several of these pictures were taken from Trent's camera phone). I probably stuck a thermometer up TJ's bum more times than I flashed the camera in his face. However, I do have one last picture to get us pumped up for March Maddness.
Let's here it for the Gators, Noles, AND Cougars! Don't be fooled by his outfit, we will be cheering for them all!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T07:25:00.001-05:00

TJ's Eighth Month

2011-02-06T19:35:00.002-05:00

Eight months old and into EVERYTHING*.

*Cheerios

You take your eyes off him for 10 seconds and your eyes return to a sight like this. Cheerios strewn all about and one happy little boy sitting in the middle. Zero guilt.

*The Fireplace
The day after he learned to crawl, he learned to climb, making the fireplace his most favorite place to be. He likes to climb up to it, then climb on top of it, then stand up, then hold on to the chains with one hand, at which point I intervene. He would probably try to climb inside if I didn't stop him there. He is one fearless little boy, which makes me one very fearful mom.

*DVDs

In addition to finding our DVD collection, he also found faith in Christ.

*Sticky Situations
He looks happy, but he is stuck. This happens all the time with a wobbly little table he likes to pull on top of him everyday. When do they put two and two together and stop getting in the same sticky situation?

*Leaves

TJ loves to suck the dirt off every leaf in sight. He occasionally finds one inside our house and he picks it up, and sucks on it for a few minutes. Take him outside and that turns into one very hearty, organic, iron-fortified meal.

*The Dishwasher
TJ loves to climb up on the dishwasher, especially when it's open and there is more surface area to play. It's a shame he can't help load/unload. Maybe we will work on that next month...

*The Toilet
Sick. But after the fiftieth time finding him like this I decided it was time to take a picture.

*Toys
Only very, very rarely does he get into his toys. We are talking a 1 to 10 ratio, meaning he plays with this awesome Christmas present from Grandpa Gene that makes noises, and lights up, and you can push it, and put balls in it... for 3 minutes, and then he goes and plays with an empty milk jug for 30.

*Julian

Yes, TJ is very, very into his best bud, Julian. He gets so excited when he sees Mr. J, who now says "TJ" without prompt. TJ will stare at him, laugh at him, and follow him everywhere he goes. Lately he has gotten to play with Julian a lot, while Kim and I crafted our little hearts out over a Valentine's banner.

*Mom's stuff

Here he is getting into part of Kim and I's unfinished little craft banner- "Happy {heart} Day"

TJ's Eighth month was my favorite so far. It was a slow month that seemed to last forever, but yet it didn't last long enough. Trent and I can't get enough of our little boy, who makes us so happy and proud. In addition to learning how to crawl this month, he also learned how to make lots of new noises, including "Dada," which Trent of course is loving. Now we need to teach him what that word means, and how to say "Mama."

My poor little puppy

2011-01-12T13:12:00.006-05:00

Ever since we got back from Utah, TJ has been a bit whiny. Actually, a lot whiny. He used to cry when he wanted something, but this past week he decided to give whining a try. I am hoping it is due to teething, rather than something more serious, like an ear infection, that I am ignoring. Anyways, the point is, I had a dream that we traded in our sweet baby boy for a whinny little puppy. I found it kind of ironic when there was a real life puppy whining outside TJ's window this morning- the whining of course was picked up on TJ's baby monitor and projected into my bedroom. The whole time I thought it was my baby-traded-in-for-a-puppy

waking up from his slumber. When I finally rolled myself out of bed to check on said puppy, I was happy to find a sleeping baby in his crib with that pesky puppy outside. Later this morning, when I set TJ on the floor to play, he got on his hands and knees and proceeded to lick the tile. Am I still dreaming or did I really trade TJ in for a puppy??

On a positive note, TJ is coughing less. I forgot to mention this in my last post, but for the past 5 weeks or so, TJ has been sick with a nasty cold/bronchiolitis/asthma/too-young-to-diagnose wheezing. They gave him a nebulizer which he HATES, and said it should help the problem within 20 minutes. More like 20 days. Times two. But he is getting better, which means we don't have to do this as often:

Poor little puppy

TJ's Seventh Month

2011-01-07T12:59:00.002-05:00

TJ is such a trooper. During his seventh month he happily went along with our 5 plane rides, one 9 hour Greyhound bus ride (gasp!), countless car rides, and all the crazy cold weather these rides took us to. This month he learned how to scoot on his bum, but quickly decided crawling would be even more fun. But after hours and hours of practicing, he hasn't mastered the skill quite yet. He did master holding his own bottle, now if only he could change his own diaper I would be set.

Here is a list of 10 highlights this month, in chronological, rather than hierarchical order :)

#1: The Greyhound bus ride

In order to save a few hundred dollars, Trent and I booked our flights to Vegas rather than Salt Lake. We then convinced Trent's dad, who works for Greyhound, to bid his run to Vegas so that we could hitch a ride with him up to Salt Lake. It turned out to be a great adventure, and TJ loved every second of it. We sat in the front seats so we were able to chat with Trent's dad, as well as look out the big front windshield at all the flooding rivers, as well as the aftermath of a huge snow storm. For nine hours straight.

#2: Spending time with Cousins
Adie was great at getting TJ to laugh by showering him with all sorts of attention. After seeing how good Adie (and Kalil) were with TJ, I am convinced that 3 years is a good gap for having kids.
Chase and TJ in their matching PJs. It was adorable seeing Chase voluntarily give TJ hugs.

Kalil loved snuggling with TJ, sharing her toys with him, as well as wrestling him to the ground just for fun. She is such a funny little girl.

#3: Opening presents
With Trent's Mom's family
With Trent's Dad's family
With Trent's Step Dad's family

And also with my family, except those pictures are on my sister's camera.

#4: Spending time with the Sirmans Clan
I loved watching Sally and Tice's girls debate over who's turn it was to hold TJ next, evidently similar debates were held between Sally and Tice when I was a baby.

The whole clan minus Tice.

#5: Heiner family Christmas party
TJ loved meeting all of Trent's mom's side of the family at their annual Christmas get together. It was so fun to see all the cousins gather into one living room and watch their Grandparents open Christmas presents, I wish I had a picture of that.

#6: Playing in the Snow
Immediately after the first snow fall we ran outside to play.
And build a snowman. I love the curiosity in TJ's eyes
Family picture with the snowman.

#7: Catching up with old friends
It was so nice of Katie and Joe to stop by and spend the morning with us before heading back to California. We are really hoping to see them again this summer.

TJ loved little Sawyer, Jake and Alisha's boy who is exactly 6 months older than TJ. Trent and I couldn't stop talking about how cute he was with his adorable little expressions and big blue eyes. Jake was Trent's main study buddy at BYU. Alisha and I would craft while they studied. It's funny because when I think back to all the things we did together we rarely saw a success, but we had so much fun in the process (geocashing for several geos- but we never once found one, several days spent crafting a single rug- which wasn't nearly as easy or cute as Martha made it seem, and of course our trips to the golf course where Alisha and I found it to be more fun to gather stray golf balls in the bushes and then being chased off the course before the boys could finish their round)

I don't have a picture of Katie Bahme and I, but Trent's mom was so kind to watch TJ so that we could go out to eat and shop together. What a lovely shopping partner and friend she is.

We also don't have pictures of all of Trent's friends that he grew up with that we were able to get together with while in Utah.

#8: Meeting Great Grandpa Savage
TJ had an instant love for his Great Grandpa Savage, TJ couldn't take his eyes off of him
It was so good to sit and chat with Grandpa Savage in his cozy living room, watch him play on the floor with TJ, and capture this fabulous four generation (minus the second) photo.

#9: The Christmas lights at Temple Square
We almost made the cardinal sin of not going to see the lights at Temple Square before leaving Utah, but thank goodness for us- they stay up past Christmas day. We made a quick run through with Trent's dad, and despite the blistering cold temperature it was delightful.

#10: Meeting TJ's newest cousin, baby Mason
My sister and I are so similar we unknowingly picked out the same Christmas PJs for our babies' first Christmas. Baby Mason is such a good, sweet baby- and just as cute as can be. He is exactly 6 months younger than TJ, but I think he already has more hair. He only needs to double in height and quadruple in head size to catch up with TJ, but surely they will be the same size one day.

TJ's Sixth Month

2010-12-06T10:44:00.006-05:00

TJ is six months old today, and he is getting so big. I hear it at least 10 times a day. It used to be- "he is so cute". Now it's- "he is so big". And it used to be- "he looks so much like his dad". And now it's- "he looks just like you". In the coming weeks I am going to bust out some copy-that-1980's-pose and let you decide who TJ really looks like. But for now please enjoy what seems like 100 pictures of TJ- it has been a very busy month and we have taken lots and lots of pictures.

Some of TJ's favorite things to do this month:

Play in his new bathtub, with or without water. It's a huge inflatable duck. Too bad it takes up our entire house. I think we are going to take this to my mom's house and use it as a pool toy next summer.

Play with Daddy.

Eat.
Play outdoors and jump in the Johnny Jumper. As you can imagine, doing both at the same time makes TJ's day.

Play with basketballs.

On Veteran's Day we took a walk to the park to shoot some hoops. More like, shoot some pictures of Trent, TJ and the basketball hoops. While we were there we got to see helicopters, jet fly overs, and skydivers as part of a big Veteran's Day celebration.

Our friends, Jeff and Stacey, gave TJ this adorable little outfit which we adore. It screams Trent Junior.

TJ, my mom, and I took a trip up to Helen, Georgia to see Meme and Lee at their Lorely timeshare. Growing up, this was my favorite place in the whole world.
But really who can deny the beauty of a Georgia Fall. This picture overlooks the timeshare where we stayed and the river that we used to go tubing down.
Posing in front of the vibrant red bush.

My mom and I weren't the only ones intrigued with the fall leaves.

And on our way back home we stopped by to see Jeff and Stacey's precious new baby, Berkeley. She is too cute for words. I adored the baby while Stacey and Cheyenne taught TJ how to play catch with the plush basketball. Biggest giggle fit ever.

I love Thanksgiving. There are so many good memories associated with the holiday, mostly because of the fun traditions established by the Barber/Meyer/Webb/Lunt clan probably before I was even born. The turkey bowl, the amazing food, the bonfire, and the pies. Oh my.

TJ and I spectated this year.

The smaller than usual, but equally as fun, crowd.

TJ didn't lack any attention. Cousins Rylee and Warner were literally fighting over who could play with him.
Stop me now, because I could go on forever. Just know that my favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was Black Friday shopping at Goodwill with my mom. We spent 26 bucks and walked out with these little vacuums which were a big hit among the young and old, a microwave (since ours broke a couple weeks ago), a brand new looking frog humidifier (TJ has been needing one, but 40 bucks, seriously?$2.75 on the other hand...), a football shaped crock pot, a Christmas tin which TJ loves, two brand new pink princess phones for my nieces for Christmas, a shaved ice maker, haha, didn't I tell you I could go on forever?
On Saturday my mom babysat, so that Trent and I could go to the FSU/UF football game.
Watching the Noles FINALLY steam roll the Gators was almost as good as shopping at Goodwill on Black Friday.

And since I was a deprived child who didn't get to go to Disney until I had practically out grown it, we decided to take TJ when he wasn't even 1/2 of a year old. Actually we had two Disney tickets from the Give-a-day, Get-a-day promo that were about to expire so we took a quick one day trip down to see the lights, ride a ride, and snap a few photos.
In front of the Magic Kingdom? Or is it Cinderella's castle? Mickey's castle? Give me a break this was only my second trip, ever, to Disney World. I wasn't exactly sure what the building was called, I just knew we needed a picture in front of it.

The Mad Tea Cup ride. So much fun. But TJ couldn't decide what was more fun, the 30 minute wait or the 10 second ride.
Definitely the thirty minute wait.
Okay so I googled it- this is the Magic Kingdom, and that building was Cinderella's Castle. TJ is on track to be much more Disney-educated than I.

Sometimes I wonder what my baby boy is going to grow up to be. He is showing so many interests, and I am just sitting on the sidelines trying to capture them all. Here are just a few potential career paths that his future holds:

Basketball player. I think he could watch Trent dribble all day and just laugh his head off. He definitely has a love for all things basketball. Plush ones, hard ones, ones that bounce and ones that roll. Big or small he likes them all.

Professional driver. Bus driver, NASCAR driver, taxi driver, you name it- the options are endless. All I know is when I gave this little boy a piece of the wheel he would NOT let go.

Rapper. I am so embarrassed to admit this, but it's becoming less of a secret that TJ loves his rap music. If he gets fussy in the car, I flip the radio to Magic 101.3 (Blazin Hip-Hop and R&B), and bada bing, bada boom- no more fussiness. They weren't kidding about the Magic part. And just for the record, his first favorite is Jay-Z's Forever Young.

Model. Maybe for the hat department. Or the Big and Tall department. Or maybe just the big department. He's all, "wait a sec, let me pop my collar."
Swimmer. No joke this is one of his top 10 favorite toys. Oh wait, he only has 10 toys. But in all seriousness, Trent's goggles keep him occupied for a loooong time. And he doesn't even mind when we put them on his head.
Plumber. I don't know where the stray Size 1 diaper came from, but when I put it on him I immediately knew I needed to grab the camera. This could be his future, ya'll.

Too much fun, the end.

Hallelujah

2010-11-22T09:13:00.006-05:00

I have heard of moms texting their friends, announcing on blogs, facebook, etc. etc. that their baby slept through the night. But of course I wasn't going to be one of those moms. HA. Until TJ slept 8 hours STRAIGHT in his crib last night. 8 HOURS STRAIGHT. It only took 5 and half months, but hey, I am just happy for last night. I never thought that would ever happen. And it might not ever happen again. But it did last night. Now off to the roof top, so that I can shout the good news...

TJ's Fifth Month

2010-11-07T20:37:00.008-05:00

Another month has come and gone, and TJ is growing faster than ever. Anything he can get his hands on goes straight to the mouth, and anything I try to feed him he gobbles right down. This month he tried oatmeal baby cereal, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, applesauce, and soy formula, all for the first time. Loved each and every one.

TJ attended his first tailgate this month- the LSU vs. UF game. Mmmmm.... low country shrimp boil. I have no clue where TJ gets his love for food. After the tail gate Kim and Stace watched TJ so that Trent and I could go to the game. Craig and Cassie drove all the way from Texas to watch the game, and it was so good to see them there. Our friends, Truman and Sarah were also in town for the weekend and spent two nights with us. One of those nights we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries at 2 am. Needless to say it was a busy weekend and I didn't get much sleep...

So I called my mom and she dropped everything and came down to let me sleep while she woke up to fed TJ his midnight snacks. We can call this Mom-to-the-rescue-Monday, part I.

I have no clue why TJ thinks he needs ~~a burger~~ milk, at 2 in the morning.

My mom eventually had to go home, and my over-tiredness turned into some sort of flu. Body aches, headaches, sore throat, a low grade fever, but mostly just body aches. Looking back I am wondering if my body was just aching from carrying around this little chunk every day.

I don't think I have a picture of Mom-to-the-rescue-Monday, part II, but it happened, I was probably too sick to take a picture. She took me home with her that week because she thought I needed to get out of the house. And what better way to spend a day out of the house than to go shopping in Thomasville, Georgia? Since ~~TJ weighs a ton~~ I was sick with the flu, my mom strapped TJ to her with the baby bjorn and a-shopping we went. She bought him this cute little plush gator which will one day be that toy that he carries around with him everywhere. I will make sure of that.

Twins. Except Trent's face is long and narrow, and Trent Junior's is not.

Oh wow, she's back. But this time she brought an adorable side kick who also likes cute plush gators. See, TJ is just going to love that thing when he gets older, I already know it.

At the Rosen Shingle Creek.

We went down to Orlando with the intention of taking TJ to Disney World for the first time. But we fell in love with the secret Travelocity hotel that we booked and decided to take advantage of the amenities. After resting by the pool, walking along the golf course on the "nature trail" and looking for gators from the fishing dock we decided to make our way to Disney. But on the way we had to stop by the outlets to buy TJ a mickey shirt. We found a mickey shirt but while we were there we had to go into this store, and that store... Thirty stores later we were exhausted and headed home.

He preferred to ride around like so.

To finish off the month we went to the Micanopy corn maze with Kim, Stace, and Julian, the twin dino. The corn maze was a blast. Trent took off with TJ, who was asleep in the stroller, while the rest of us tried to keep up. For a minute I was worried we wouldn't be able to find them, but of course we did, and one turn later we found a secret exit and proceeded to take pictures of our matching dinos, which are featured in my previous post.

And since Kim was behind the camera in all the other pictures, here she is!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T17:20:00.003-04:00

TJ's fourth month

2010-10-07T16:14:00.004-04:00

Of course this month wasn't any different than last. I was too "busy" to post all the happenings of our growing boy as they came... so here goes the new tradition of dumping a full months worth of pictures into one post. This one we will call "TJ's fourth month". It began with TJ rolling over just one day after my previous post. He proceeded to roll over several other times but he hasn't done it much lately. I guess all those rolls were just accidental.

The boy loves to drool. He should always always wear a bib because he is always drooling. The doctor says he might be teething?
He also likes to suck his thumb. Usually his little pointer finger rests on his nose to make room for the thumb to go in further. He has been trying to suck his thumb ever since the day he was born but I have fought it off with the pacifier. Now he wakes up several times during the night when his pacifier falls out so as of today I declare TJ the winner- you can have your thumb, bud. I'm sure in about 5 years I will be fighting the no-thumb-sucking battle again but right now we both need sleep :)
TJ got his first hair cut this month.
All we did was trim off his little 1980's rat tail.
He out grew the infant insert in his car seat.
And started practicing sitting in his high chair, and did pretty good, although sometimes he would fall to the side.
Yesterday he had me laughing. I set him up in the corner of his crib and went into the other room to get ready for the day.
When I came back he was fast asleep while sitting straight up. He must be like his mom and especially my dad- we are both pretty good at falling asleep while sitting up.

Lastly, here are his stats from his 4 month checkup today:

Head: 17 (72 %) not sure where he got his big head from

Height: 25.25 (62 %)

Weight: 15.15 (69 %)

TJ's third month

2010-09-08T14:16:00.007-04:00

I wasn't planning on doing another massive month-in-review type of post, but it looks like another month has come and gone and it's time to get this blog updated...

TJ tagged along for my 24th birthday celebration at Yamatos Japanese Steakhouse. Thank you, TJ, for sleeping through the whole thing.

TJ took his first trip out of state when we visited Jeff and Stacey in Georgia. Jeff is a coach for Elbert County High school and, despite a few car troubles on the way up, we were able to make it to his season opener. It was so neat to see Jeff coaching from the sidelines with the headset and wrist band, so professional.

The rest of our stay was spent indoors due to rain, but of course that is still fun when you are with fun people like this. We love, love, love hanging out with the Bennums.

While in Athens we visited with Meme and Lee and went out for a bite to eat. For some reason the group picture turned out blurry, which really is a shame. In the other picture TJ is rubbing his eyes- something he does now when he gets tired.

After Georgia we headed down to Tallahassee to hang out with my family. TJ wasn't a fan of my parent's pool but he did love the portable swing we set up right beside it.

My parents couldn't get enough of us while we were there so they came down to Gainesville that following weekend. My mom had TJ rolling with his new found love for laughing.

TJ has taken a few trips to the pool across the street at our old apartment complex. We love spending the afternoon with our old neighbors, Mikeal and Bronson. However, it's hit or miss whether TJ will enjoy the pool. He has to be full and the water has to be warm.

TJ got to spend a couple of mornings with Mr. Julian last week. Pretty much every day since the day TJ was born I have thought to myself, "how do people have more than one?" and hence I was a bit worried about watching the two babies by myself. Thanks to TJ sleeping most of the time, Julian being a really good baby, and lots of unexpected help from Trent and Mikeal, I didn't have to figure out the two baby thing quite yet.

Last Saturday TJ went to his first UF football game. He did so good. Here he is on the way to the game, along with some random filler picture.

And here we are at the game. He slept most of the first and last quarters and didn't seem bothered at all by the noise. What a trooper.

Lastly, some pictures from tummy time. He is much happier when on his back, but I read somewhere that he is supposed to be propping himself up on his elbows and rolling over by now, if not very soon. Needless to say we have been doing lots of tummy time the last few days and TJ is making some progress. He can prop himself up on his elbows and even scoots forward but his arms aren't as strong so he just drags them behind. Still working on the roll over thing.

In other news

2010-08-15T23:08:00.007-04:00

Busting out some not-so-exciting posts just as fast as my fingers can type. What else do you do when your baby sleeps for 6 hours straight. I wouldn't know, it's never happened before. I spent the first two hours taking a nap myself, the next two cleaning, and then another two talking to my mom on the phone. And now I am vomiting words just for the sake of posting more posts. Last week TJ had his first round of shots. I was really worried about them, thinking it would make my baby sick and then I would have to figure out how to help a sick child feel better, but to my surprise he only cried for a second after he got pricked and hasn't shown any signs of sickness since.

Notice that chub on my boy's leg. Yep, he is gaining weight. He dropped off the charts in weight a couple weeks ago and even after taking pills to increase my milk supply I was told I was starving my child (they never said it like that, but essentially that's what I was doing) and have begun supplementing with formula. And boy howdy does that formula work. He gobbles it down like there's no tomorrow and his thighs are starting to show it. And his belly. And his checks.

In other news, my dad came down to work on some Heritage books with me of his China adventures. But what really ended up happening is he fed the baby a bottle (and another, and another) while I worked on the books.

And just one more piece of news that might not be super exciting to you, but I will include just because I happened to have taken a picture of it- TJ discovered his reflection. What did he do? He cried. Most babies coo and cah and giggle when they look at themselves in the mirror. Mine cried.

This is him in the swing that Kim, Stace, and Julian are letting us borrow (thank you, thank you, thank you). It has a mirror in the middle of the mobile. I have been trying to get him to look at the mobile for weeks, by tapping on it, telling him to look at it (that never works), but today he decided to do it on his own. And now I am wishing he hadn't since he isn't super fond of the way he looks. I'm hoping this doesn't ruin his liking for the swing because in the past he has loved it. I seriously can't thank Kim and Stace enough for letting us borrow it.

Life Saver.

See those chubby checks? Further proof that my baby is back on the charts.

Vintage Revisted

2010-08-15T22:55:00.004-04:00

A long, long time ago Amanda bought some overalls from the Gap for her cabbage patch doll. A couple decades later these little guys showed up in a bag full of clothes that Amanda gave me when she found out I was having a boy.

I'm thinking this sleepy little boy looks like his daddy.

Green Smoothies

2010-08-15T22:19:00.005-04:00

Trent's Sister, Sabrina, introduced us to one of my newest favorite treats this past week when she was in town- green smoothies.

All you do is blend fresh spinach with water until pureed, then add all the normal smoothie ingredients, like frozen bananas, berries, etc. A couple spoonfuls of frozen orange juice concentrate is especially helpful in masking the spinach flavor. Although I was very skeptical at first, I have been hooked ever since my first taste, and have been sharing it with everyone who comes to my house.

Rex couldn't get enough of his, but Kalil kept saying she hated it- probably because she helped me make it and knew what was in it. Later on Amanda put some in her juice bottle where she couldn't see the color and she downed it!

And here is a bonus picture just because it is cute. My mom loves her grand babies.

TJ's second month

2010-08-11T10:51:00.004-04:00

Amanda and Kalil were finally able to come to Florida to meet TJ! Kalil is such a cutie and is going to be such a good big sister to her brother who is due in December. We already have a trip planed to see him in January- I am sure TJ and Ryker Jr. are going to be best buds!

My parents came down the Saturday before TJ's blessing and took all of the grandkids (minus Stevie who got sick the day before) to Wild Waters. TJ just sat in the shade the whole time eating. And the other picture is of Rex, Rylee, Kalil, and Warner, all dressed and ready to go to the water park.

The following Tuesday Trent, my dad, and Trent's stepdad went deep sea fishing. Trent was the only one to catch a grouper, evidently it wasn't a great day to go fishing but Trent loved just riding around in the boat getting sun. And the other picture is of him making TJ smile, something he is always trying to do.
The rest of the week we spent with Trent's family. We took them to see the Alligators, hung out at their condo in Palm Coast, played put-put, and went to the beach. Adie and Chase had so much fun playing in the sand/water, and TJ had fun sleeping. Other than eating and swinging, the beach is the only thing that will put that boy to sleep.

Dental School Family Day

2010-07-27T21:33:00.003-04:00

This past weekend TJ and I had the opportunity to attend Family Day with Trent at his school. Of course what excited me the most was dressing TJ up in the little scrubs that I made for him before he was born. Paired with shoes that are identical to Trent's, I do believe TJ looked like a true junior.

At the family day we met some of Trent's classmates, toured the school, watched a slideshow that recapped their past year of fun, and listened to a couple of their professors speak. One in particular, Dr. Ottenga, had me laughing so hard that I shed tears when he showed this clip. enjoy.

Katie's Visit

2010-07-18T20:41:00.003-04:00

My good friend, Katie, came to visit all the way from San Francisco. You might recognize her from my facebook profile pic. She graduated with me in the accounting program at BYU, and also TAed with me in the accounting lab. We spent a lot of time together senior year, studying, eating, and talking on the phone. I think the world of this girl, and just in case any single guys happen to be reading this blog- may I mention that she is single :) Since she flew into Jacksonville, we spent the night with my brother and sister and hit up the beach the next day. I was a little worried about taking TJ since he was only 5 weeks old, but he absolutely loved it it. The sound of the waves crashing and the warm weather kept him nice and cozy under the umbrella that Andy and Dana let us borrow.

That evening when we got back to Gainesville we met Kim, Stace, and their happy little baby, Julian, at Chick-fil-a to get some free chicken. Kim made the cutest little spotted onsie for TJ which earned us a free milkshake. Kim also cut out all these spots for us, Trent printed the signs, and we found the cow hats at the table next to us. It is always a fun time with Kim and Stace.

During the remainder of Katie's visit we spent lots of time watching chick flicks in bed, sleeping in, shopping (which we discovered TJ enjoys if carried in his Baby Bjorn) and catching up on life. Katie bought TJ the cutest little red and blue flip flops from Baby Gap (pictured below). We ran out of time and didn't think we would be able to go see the Alligators, but Katie's flight ended up being delayed three hours so we ran over to Paines Prairie, which happens to be pretty close to the airport, during the wait. While that seemed like a fantastic plan, it ended up being kinda scary, but thanks to the park ranger we managed to make it out of the park alive not to mention with a couple of photos for proof that Katie actually saw alligators while in Florida (note to self- never ever go to see the Alligators with out Trent). Sometimes when Katie was still asleep in the morning I would dress TJ up and take pictures of him just for fun. The green shirt below is an old Lacoste shirt that my brother, Alex, wore when he was a baby. The rattle he loves to hold onto is a Lunt Silver rattle that my mom buys for all her grandchildren. The family picture was taken courtesy of Katie, and the picture of him smiling is one of the few we have been able to capture with the camera even though he has been smiling since the first of this month.

TJ's first month

2010-07-10T12:03:00.007-04:00

Just a quick picture post to recap all of the fun things Baby TJ has been up to during his first month. Some of the highlights include:

-First trip to Tallahassee

-Meeting my brother, Alex's family, as well as my mom's mom, Meme for the first time

-First Father's day (TJ gave Trent a Gator counting book)

-First visit from Aunt Elaine and Ellie

-Meeting Trent's mom and having her feed him his first bottle

-Meeting our friends, Jeff, Stacey, and Cheyenne Bennum visiting from Georgia

-Going to Godfather's pizza buffet with the Bennums

-First walk to the park with Cheyenne and Stacey

-First trip to see the Alligators at Paines Prairie

-First Fourth of July- a day full of festive food with the Bennums

-Watching fireworks in Alachua

-First trip to church

Baby's First Week

2010-06-15T20:08:00.004-04:00

It has been quite the eventful week for Baby TJ. On Wednesday he met his cousin Stevie, Aunt Dana, and Uncle Andy.

And that night he had his first baby sitter- my mom watched him while Trent and I ran to Walmart. We were so nervous that he would get hungry while we were gone but of course he just slept the whole time.
On Thursday he had his first doctor's appointment where we found out he had lost 7 ounces putting him in the 32nd percentile for weight and 81st percentile for height. Oh, and his head circumference was in the 38th percentile- he was the small headed baby I had been dreaming of after all.
We were excited when they put us in the sports themed doctor's room :) Although he doesn't look too thrilled himself.
Everyday he has spent most of him time sleeping. Lots of sleeping and lots of eating.
On Saturday we gave him a sponge bath
he didn't really appreciate that.
But we had to get him cleaned up for his very first outing- a trip to the UF baseball game that evening.
Even though we were too late to make it inside the gate, he loved it! He didn't even cry during his diaper change.
On Sunday we got him dressed up for church in his cute submarine outfit even though we didn't actually go to church. Unfortunately he didn't keep this outfit on for too long because he peed through the diaper. It took Trent and I a week to figure out how to properly change a little boy's diaper. Swadlers work better than Huggies and you have to point the little pee pee down.

Baby Savage has arrived

2010-06-14T18:31:00.000-04:00

Our precious baby boy was born June 6th at 4:33 pm. He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. We named him Trent Jr. but we will call him TJ to keep everyone straight. Here is his story:

Saturday night I was one week past the due date and bored out of my mind. I decided to buy a box of hair dye at Walmart. Around 9:00, when I began the dying process, I started to feel the beginning of what became labor. An hour later I felt what I thought was another contraction. This went on though the night until 2:00 am, at which point I knew without a doubt that this was the real deal and decided to call the hospital. My midwife told me I could come to the hospital as soon as I wanted. However, I was too terrified of being turned away so I labored though the night and early morning until I decided I had had enough. We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 am and was dilated 6 centimeters. As soon as they gave me the okay for staying I requested the epidural. Best decision of my life. It went from hard contractions every couple of minutes to pure bliss.

We slept for several hours until I felt like I was ready to push. That's when it got incredibly painful. I pushed for what felt like 10 hours (but really was only an hour and a few minutes) and that was that. Trent cut the umbilical cord,

and the nurse cleaned him up,
and we spent the next 48 hours adoring our new baby son.
Then we left the hospital,
and we have enjoyed every minute of having him in our home.
I could stare at this little boy all day if sleeping and eating weren't a necessity. Hence the reason it took me so long to post his story, I have been way to busy trying to soak up as much of his itty bitty self as possible since I know it wont last long enough. I have been taking pictures though and will try to get some more posted soon.

Update for anyone who's interested

2010-05-28T21:39:00.006-04:00

No baby yet. I tried drinking half a bottle of castor oil on the 25th, eating mexican food on the 26th, and lots and lots of walking over the last couple of days. But again- no baby. Just one very pregnant woman (who now gets asked if she's having twins), and one very impatient husband. Trent's birthday came, but not even an inkling of a contraction. I have surrendered to the fact that I have little control over when our baby boy makes his entrance. But I can't put all the blame on him, after all, we did gave him conflicting advice- wait until we are settled into our new place, but come on the 26th. We were no where near close to being settled in on the 26th. It's the evening of the 28th and I am just now starting to feel somewhat settled. This is mostly due to the great help I have received from my mom who came down Tuesday night to help get all my projects done before the little baby comes. She has been working nonstop ever since she got here.

Last week Trent and I decided to celebrate his birthday early by cashing in on his free Whisky River chicken sandwich at Red Robin. The closest Red Robin is 2 hours away in Daytona, so we made the birthday celebration into a day at the beach. This is very fitting for Trent who worships the sun. While we were on the east coast we decided to drive up to Jacksonville Beach to drop off a bed for my nephew, Stevie. And while we were there I had Trent take some pictures of mrs. preggo in her swimsuit...

with a coverup on top.

Of course we couldn't actually make it off the boardwalk and into the sand before the battery died but the 9 month pregnant look was captured and I am now officially done taking pictures.

Tomorrow I am going to post pictures of my baby showers. If you don't see a post hopefully that means I'm having a baby.

Full term

2010-05-06T08:02:00.000-04:00

It's so hard to believe that tomorrow my baby will be "full term". Even though he has been quite the wiggle worm in the womb, for some reason, it's still very hard for me to comprehend that a real live baby is inside of me...

People still ask if I am ready. I still don't know how to answer that. Our baby is supposedly ready as far as position goes, evidently he flipped and is now "vertex" rather than "breach." And after having a couple of amazing baby showers last week, both Baby and I are much more prepared in a necessity sense than before. I'm pretty sure I have little control over the exact date of arrival, but wishing for this baby to be a boy didn't seem to do any harm.

In my "perfect world" Baby Savage would wait until after we have moved (that would be this weekend). In fact, he would also wait until after we have somewhat settled in to our new place (give me another couple weeks for that). The most ideal date would be May 26th, since that is Trent's birthday, and also Trent's Dad's birthday. Three generations, that would be something. But the true due date- which is the 28th, wouldn't be bad either, it's the first day of Trent's 2 week break from school. The next two days after that would be okay too, but anything in the month of June is not part of my "perfect world" plan.

I think the reality of this pregnancy will hit me like a million bricks once I go into labor, and especially once I see the baby outside of the womb. Until then I will try to get as much prepared as possible- any last minute advice would be wonderful :)

i•ron•ic

2010-03-17T13:53:00.008-04:00

adj.
Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs:

One of the main reasons Trent wanted to go to Florida for dental school was because of the warm weather. Isn’t it kind of ironic that this winter just so happened to be the second coldest winter Gainesville has ever seen since they started recording temperatures in the early 1900s? Believe it or not, I think this has been the most stressful thing for Trent to handle since we’ve been here. He may have even lost hair over it.

But he’s not the only one who’s been losing hair. They say your hair is supposed to be “full and luxurious” when pregnant, something to do with the growing phase and the resting phase… but this is not the case for me. It seems that I have been losing more hair than ever the past few months (ironic, no?). Although the American Pregnancy Association would blame it on vitamin deficiency, I’m pretty sure it has more to do with stress (Hello! Vitamin-packed Ovaltine is my drink of choice these days). Stressing over little things that I really shouldn’t stress over, like having to give birth to a child with a big head. Or now, stressing over the fact that my baby is in breech position. I swear he was there with us at all those child birth classes, but he obviously wasn’t paying any attention. Isn’t it kind of ironic that I used to worry about having to push for hours to get that big ole head out but now I worry about not having the opportunity to (if he stays in his current position we would most likely have to go the c-section route)?

I’ve also been a wee bit stressed over the townhouse that we made an offer on 39 days ago. Since it’s a “short sale” we have to wait for the bank to approve our offer. We have heard absolutely nothing from them yet. But we just recently did find out that someone else has made an offer in the mean time. The most ironic thing of all is the fact that they call this thing a “short sale.” There is nothing short to it.

We have about 10 more weeks till our small-headed, non-breech baby is going to make his entrance and we have no clue where or if this child will have shelter. The good thing is that it's starting to warm up here in Gainesville. At least one of us will have hair at that point.

The calm before the storm

2010-02-28T20:53:00.014-05:00

This past week has been the most boring seven days of my entire existence. Going back as far as my mind can stretch, life has always been busy. That stopped at about 8 am last Monday morning when my life hit its very first standstill. I found myself working and sleeping without much to do to fill in the extra hours.

I have a feeling this is the calm before the little storm that is about to hit.

Everyone has seen a warning sign similar to the one below, right?

In Florida this icon is all too familiar, indicating that there is a hurricane on the rise. I think the symbol represents the eye of the storm

Now rewind to February 9th when I posted my favorite picture of our unborn child. Here it is again, with a few finishing touches.

I do believe we have received our warning sign. I will try to enjoy the next three months of calm before our little storm arrives :)

And since it has been a month since I last posted a picture of me and the belly...

23 going on 15

2010-02-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

How does this work?

In high school people often told me I looked older than I was. Now that I am older, people often tell me that I look younger than I am. You would think this was a fantastic scenario, but no. Not when you are married and people think you are sixteen (I'm pretty sure that is illegal in the state of Florida, even if I was granted parental consent). And it's especially humiliating when you are visibly pregnant. Trent and I get it all the time. The card scanner at the gym, the hostess at the restaurant, the random stranger in the grocery store. You blame it on my young looking sidekick? Nope, I get it at work all the time too, and they've never see my 17-year-old husband. It happened again today. The lady in charge of payroll came up to me and whispered "I told Marsha (my boss) that you look like you might be pregnant, she informed me that you are indeed pregnant. I was like- Isn't she in high school!? Marsha told me that you're not, and that you're married." wow. Do they think they are paying me a compliment? I might be quietly chuckling with you on the outside but on the inside I am screaming "I have a college degree, I've been out of high school for 6 years, I'm married, I'm 23 and a half..."

Some sort of explanation is needed. Is it really possible for me to stop aging at 20 and then start "younging" (my made up antonym for aging) and if so, how long is this going to last or what can I do to stop it? You would think getting pregnant would do the trick. Nope, the pregnancy pimples have me headed more in the direction of middle school.

Then

Now (pre pregnancy)

Wear more make up? Encircle myself with older looking people? Dress in less? Lose the weight that appears to have gone straight to my face?

Or maybe I should just embrace the 16-year-old-married-pregnant-person that I appear to be. Now that's a thought.

Last night Trent and I went to our first birthing class...

2010-02-09T09:20:00.008-05:00

I may have learned more during that 2 hour session than I have during any other 2 hour period in my life. And since I am so clueless about the whole pregnancy and birthing process, I put a spoon in each hand and scarf down any advice that is given of this sort when it is placed in front of me.

Here are a few of the things that stood out the most to us.

First and foremost, the video. A full blown birthing video. With no meds, a rather large lady demonstrated what they call a "natural birth." Simply put- the dramatic course of events that took place during this lady's labor changed my life. When I saw that big ole' baby's head trying to fit though that tiny little exit point, I leaned over to Trent and asked him something along the lines of- where do I sign up for the c-section? This is coming from someone who specifically enrolled with a midwife rather than a doctor for the primary reason of not wanting to be pressured into a c-section. I cant get the image out of my head. On a positive note, Trent and I both have abnormally small heads. I will be crossing my fingers for the next 3 months that the small-head gene gets passed down to baby #1.

Particularly interesting point number two. They were talking about pregnancy cravings. They talked about how some people crave dirt and other non-food items. I actually have heard of this before, but what struck me as weird was that they advised us to microwave the dirt before eating it. They were totally serious too. They said, "if you really, really have to eat that handful of dirt, make sure to just microwave it first." What the?

I think the thing that stood out the most to Trent was the ever so important topic of kegels. He hasn't stopped talking about them since. This morning when we were getting ready for work/school I swear he asked me 15 times if I was kegeling. When I replied, "no", he would then advise me to do a few. A couple minutes later he would follow up to see how well they went. I have a feeling the reminders aren't going to stop anytime soon, its like his new kick. When he got home from school he asked if I had been doing them today. Have I ever told you how much I Hate kegeling. Ugh. Gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Since every post needs a picture (or at least to make my sister happy), here is my favorite picture of our boy with a small head. I know it looks like his head is massive, but really his body is just that much smaller. wink wink.

Now that I have blogged about football...

2010-01-30T08:25:00.006-05:00

I am entitled to one pregnancy post, no?

Holy cow. Only 17 weeks to go. It seems like that could come tomorrow with how fast time flies. People ask if I'm ready... well, no, I mean, sure, why not? But then to think that it's only (give or take) 17 weeks away is quite frightening. Maybe I'm not ready. Don't get me wrong, I'm dying to meet the little guy, to see what he looks like, and to eat up his active personality. Sorry to get side tracked, but, wow, is he active. Ever since my last pregnancy post when I thought I discovered what it felt like to accumulate fat, baby has been kicking and flipping (and who knows what else, it's just lots and lots of moving) as if to assure me it's him and not something else. These kicks are actually visibal to the human eye. At least to my eye, but not so much to Trent's. While it's practically my newest favorite hobby to just stare at my stomach and watch the sudden jolts, I think Trent is still developing the patience that is required to play that game. Come on, you gotta wait for it...

Back to what I was saying. Excited? Yes. However, I do realize this is going to change our lives in a big way. Speaking of big, little man in the oven is getting humongous. His supposed height from head to toe is nearly 12 inches and, according to the charts, he should weigh over a pound by now. And hence, there is this double-me-affect taking place. I'm getting bigger by the second, especially after I eat. My body seems to hold on to every ounce of fat that I intake as if to hoard it from the baby. Come on thighs, baby needs it much, much more than you.

So that's it for now. Lots of moving, lots of growing, and not a lot of time left... Here is my very first preggo pic for you to relish in my chubbines, because lets be honest, who wouldn't want to to do that?

whoa whoa whoa, don't divide that by 4, I'm just barely 5 months, okay? :)

Confessions of a Football Fanatic's Wife

2010-01-26T07:28:00.017-05:00

I have a sneaky feeling that some people feel sorry for me because of my husband's obsession with college football. While I must admit that on a few select Saturdays during the season it is a bit overwhelming, I really wouldn't want it any other way. I cant think of a single thing I would rather my husband enjoy watching over it. That's because I like to watch it too. But that's not my big confession. You probably already knew all that.

Here it is.

Sometimes, when I'm home alone, and there is 50 gazillion channels to choose from, I choose ESPN. And what's worse is I just made what I thought was a super killer deal with my husband- we canceled cable until next football season in exchange for an xbox 360 (we're talking almost 1000 dollars in savings plus he agreed to change alllll the baby diapers when he is home). But guess what... I kinda miss hearing all the familiar voices of our friends at ESPN. Even the really annoying ones like Lou Holtz. Okay, maybe not Lou Holtz. But everyone else's voice, besides his, I sorta miss. In fact, when I go to the gym to work out, I occasionally tune into ESPN for a few brief moments to bring back all the warm fuzzy memories that I had before I made the infamous xbox-agreement.

In memory of the long lost 2009 football season, I have compiled one picture from every game that we attended. With the exception of the first game against Charleston Southern- my battery was dead, Amy- can I get a copy of your's? So here it goes. Recap of 2009, sans Charleston Southern.

Lots of memories of the Troy game. Trent's good friend from BYU, Jake, was in town interviewing at the dental school so we decided to all go to the Gator Walk as part of the pre-game celebration. Both Jake and Trent can testify that I was only one extended arm away from hugging Tim Tebow. The ball was in my court and I let it drop, oh well. That is now my official biggest regret in life- not hugging Tebow when the opportunity presented itself.

Oh the hyped up Tennessee game. Since the Gator Walk was such a hit the previous week we decided to take another stab at it. After all, maybe I could apologize to Tebow. There were probably 500 times more people at the Gator Walk this week. All the crowds of people + first trimester nausea + the scorching heat of the afternoon = second biggest regret of my life- not selling my ticket for $120 when the opportunity presented itself (and it did indeed present itself).

Best football road trip ever. I already have a whole post dedicated to this battle in the Bayou, so no reminiscing necessary here.

The homecoming game. As part of the homecoming festivities we attended the Gator Growl, the student-run pep rally, the night prior . Despite the fact that the homecoming game was against Arkansas, I don't recall them mentioning Arkansas the entire night. Every single joke was on Florida State. I didn't really get that.

The great Florida-Georgia game held at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville on Halloween Day. Hence the Gator costume. The costume, however, was a failure as it looks more like a frog than a gator. Oh well, at least it provided a tad bit of shade during one of the hottest days of my life. And it wasn't because I was pregnant, although I did share the big news with my family earlier that day at a park in Jax Beach. It's still a wonder how I was able to gather all my siblings and parents in that Jax Beach park for a "Halloween BBQ" and not have them know the real reason for the get-together.

I accidentally wore exact Vandy colors to this game. It's a good thing it got cool enough towards the end to cover up my gold cardigan with my orange and blue sweater. We went to the famous Swamp Restaurant right before the game with the gift card my Grandma Jessie and Uncle Brent gave to us for graduation. It was quite the crowded place that afternoon, I think we were pretty darn lucky to be able to get a seat, that was in view of the TV, and be able to order, and get our food. Maybe you would have to see how packed the restaurant is on game day to appreciate such rarity.

No special memories come to mind for this game. I do remember getting there sometime after the first quarter because I was busy watching New Moon the morning of. Evidently there was only one thing on my mind after seeing the movie, and I don't think he was playing football.

It was all fun up until about this point. And then the game started and UF started their scoring rampage. Someone (it is still beyond me who actually snapped this one) captured so well how I was feeling during this game with the following photo. On a positive note, the company was fantastic. Jeff and Stacey were in town for Thanksgiving Break and we had so much fun going to the game with them. Stacey and I had a blast making Cheyenne a little gator onesie and tutu, and we all enjoyed taking turns passing her around during the game. Some stranger next to us even got a turn holding her.

One day, when I find the docking device for my camera, I will post pictures of our trip to the Sugar Bowl. But until then these pictures will have to suffice. And this brings us to the end of the '09 Florida Football Season.

Pregnancy

2010-01-08T13:36:00.013-05:00

Yesterday I had my 20 week ultrasound and, to my relief, the previous gender results were confirmed- he’s 100% boy. I was a little hesitant to believe it the first time since we both thought it was a girl even though we really wanted our first baby to be a boy (Trent probably would be fine if the second and third etc are boys too). I think we talked ourselves into thinking it when we were coming up with all the positive aspects of having a girl. Needless to say, I feel much better now having a second confirmation that he's really a he and most importantly he developing perfectly.

I never wanted to only blog about pregnancy when I was expecting, and believe me I’m still not planning on doing that for the next 20 weeks, but it does seem to be the one thing that occupies my thoughts about 90% of the time so we will see how successful I am with blogging about something else. With that having been said, here are my thoughts on pregnancy so far.

Kicking
For the past couple weeks I *thought* I have been feeling the baby move. Since it’s my first pregnancy I don’t really know what it’s supposed to feel like. But regardless of what it is that I'm feeling, it started in my 18th week as faint, little flutters and then three days ago (after eating a chocolate covered pretzel at work) it progressed into what felt like 3 distinct kicks. I even put my hand under my sweater after the second and I felt something move with my hand. But just now at work I felt a similar sensation in my upper thigh. I’m beginning to think these feelings are the fluttery feeling of fat accumulation. Either that or muscle degradation.

Weight gain
Ill be completely honest- I’m scared to death of gaining too much weight during my pregnancy. My doctor only gave me one piece of advice in the first few visits- “don’t gain to much weight.” It seems to me there isn’t a ton of things to do to prevent the excess pounds, exercise seems to be restricted to low impact aerobics like, swimming and um, walking (does that even count?). And then they say you aren’t supposed to lift heavy things, I’m just crossing my fingers those 10 pound dumbbells at the gym don’t count. So far keeping the weight off hasn’t been a problem, the “pregnancy cravings” haven’t hit and doing an occasional workout has seemed to fit into the schedule so far. Having a personal trainer at work has probably helped too. But then again our baby boy weighs only half a pound and I’ve gained 5. Its probably that chocolate covered pretzel.

Pictures
Just as I wasn’t going to blog every post about pregnancy, I definitely wasn’t going to post pictures of the growing belly. So far I haven’t even taken any (of the posed nature) to post, but I’m thinking tomorrow on the official 20 week mark I may take one. I am thinking I might want to remember what I looked like before the baby completely takes over and changes the way I look (forever).

Pet Peeves
I’m sure my list of pet peeves is going to get a lot longer as pregnancy goes on and people start saying/doing weird things, but for now my biggest pet peeve (I guess you could call it a pet peeve) is people calling pregnancy 10 months. I was always confused by this before I was pregnant but never cared to really look into it. Until now. And I think I figured it out with the help of Wikipedia and lots and lots of calendars and counting.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prenatal_development.png

First of all, notice what they call “the first two weeks." To include those in your pregnancy is definitely debatable. All I’m going to say about it is this- to include those two weeks would mean that I was pregnant on the first day of my last period...I'm no expert on the matter but I think that's highly unlikely. However, notice in the picture above that even if you keep those first two debatable weeks, 40 weeks hits right at the end of 9 months.
I think people get confused because they think months are 4 weeks or 28 days and so when they are 12 weeks pregnant they divide that by 4 and say they are 3 months. Or at 16 weeks they figure they are 4 months pregnant. No, you’re thinking of February. On average, a month is like 30.42 days, that’s about 2.5 days longer than 28 days. Multiply that by the “10 months you're pregnant” and that’s were you get those extra 25 days you call the 10th month of pregnancy.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I do know two things for sure- 1) the doctors told us our baby was conceived sometime in September and 2) baby is due May 29th. I'm only pregnant for 9 months.

To sum it up
All and all, being pregnant hasn’t been too different from not being pregnant. When I think of all the “pregnancy side effects” they are all symptoms I’ve dealt with my whole life, I guess now I just have an excuse? Examples include the following:
-Pregnancy brain- Forgetfulness has always been a problem/strength (however you look at it) of mine.
-Gas- Nothing new here.
-Fatigue- Sleeping has always been on my top 10 list of favorite things to do.
-Increased Appetite- I have and always will be hungry for more. Always.

Exciting News for the New Year

2010-01-01T01:25:00.001-05:00

I am naturally inclined to start this post by dwelling on the fact that I haven't posted in over two months {gasp}, but I don't think I'm going to go that route today. I have bigger and better things to get to, and I don't have all night...

Were having a baby in 2010! What a delightful surprise! The first ultrasound estimated Baby Savage's due date to be the 29th of May. We're almost half way there-- 19 weeks down and only 21 more to go.

The weekend before Christmas we went down to Orlando to get a sneak peek of the baby and determine the gender via a 3D ultrasound. The pictures/video were put on a DVD which was then dispersed to family members {who weren't expecting to find out the baby's gender until Jan 7} on Christmas Eve. Delightful surprise #2- we're having a boy! We will double confirm that on the 7th of January {in the mean time we will be crossing our fingers that the gender doesn't change}.

Pregnancy so far has had its ups and downs, some days I really enjoy being pregnant, other days I pull out a calender and start counting. But overall we are both genuinely excited to be parents and looking forward to all the challenges and rewards that come with it.

Happy New Year!

LSU vs. UF

2009-10-26T21:57:00.006-04:00

Two weekends ago Trent and I set out to make the 9 hour scamper to Baton Rouge following behind our friends, Craig and Cassie. We had a late start on Friday since we all had work and school, but it made for getting to Tallahassee right at dinner time. So of course we stopped at my parents house to quickly scarf down some food before eventually getting to our surprisingly nice Denham Springs, Louisiana Quality Inn around 3 am. Just in time to get in a little nap before going to the College Gameday Show at 9:00 am. It's a good thing we went though, because I'm pretty sure no other Gator fans were able to make it there in time. Either that or they were scared away by the crowd chanting "Tiger Bait" while simultaneously pointing at them.

Cassie is from Louisiana so that's why she is sporting her purple and gold. I love this picture of them.

And this one is fantastic too. It really captures her 6 month + pregnant look.

Ready for Game Day

At College Game Day

Did I mention how classy the LSU fans were? Notice the finger behind Cassie's head.

At the game just prior to kickoff.

This was our view from the amazing seats on the lower level in the midst of LSU alumni. Next post is going to have a video of one LSU Alumnus which highlights how bright they are. (I just need to get my sister to upload it for me). We made history at this game, some 93,000 + fans made it to the stadium that night, more than ever before at the Tiger Stadium.

We had such a good time. I was all excited about making this post when I got home, but then I realized we left our camera in Tallahassee. My sister ended up uploading the pictures to snapfish and sending them to me, but by the time I got them the enthusiasm and energy to post was gone.

We unfortunately didn't record Game Day while we were gone, so we cant see for ourselves, but some of our friends were kind enough to text us and let us know that they saw us on TV. Evidently the camera captured Trent going crazy surrounded by LSU fans, and since he was able to lift me on his shoulders I was able to do the Gator chop right behind Chris Fowler's head. It took all but two hours of him lifting me up when Fowler started talking and setting me back down when Fowler was done to finally get it right, but in the last few minutes of the show we figured it out and I got a few seconds of TV time. One of my favorite road trips by far, one that makes me excited for all the football road trips we hope to take in the future.

Summer Wrap-up [Part III]

2009-10-04T18:31:00.013-04:00

Back on track and ready to get caught up for good. August was a whirlwind of a month, it came and went before I could even blink my eye.

PUERTO RICO

We wanted to take one last vacation before the new school year so we hopped on a plane for Puerto Rico with no plans in mind but to relax and enjoy the island views. We decided to s

tay at a hotel on the beach in Dorado, a nice little town out side of San Juan because we liked the idea of being away from the city. Some of our adventures in Puerto Rico include a trip to Old San Juan, the Barceloneta Outlet Mall, El Yuque Rainforest, Flamenco beach on Culebra Island and a relaxing day at the Dorado Beach.

KATIE AND JOE

Upon our arrival at the Orlando Airport we met up with our good friends from BYU, Katie and Joe. Katie was my roommate Sophomore year and she was in town for Amy's (another one of our roommates) wedding. Joe went

through the accounting program with me at BYU and has a great job at Deloitte in Southern California. We had so much fun with them while they were here. We took them to see the alligators first thing. We also went out to eat at Calico Jacks for oysters and to Sonny's for some Florida barbecue. They were here during my 23rd birthday so we rented tubes and went down the Ichetucknee River. While we floated down the river we saw turtles, fish, birds, deer, raccoons, and even

river otters. Thanks Katie for sending me the picture from our rafting trip.

BIKE RIDE TO TALLAHASSEE

On August 21st Trent rode the back highways from Gainesville to Tallahassee, 150 miles in total. He left early in the morning just before I left for work and I drove up after work, arriving only a couple minutes after him. All day he just peddled and peddled and peddled. For some reason I was so nervous about the trip all day and was so relieved every time he called to check in.

DENTAL SCHOOL

As I mentioned before, Trent had two first weeks of school. He had what he thought was the first week of school but actually turned out to be orientation.

And then of course he had the first week of actual school, scrubs and all.

The first picture is of Trent and his friend Jeff. I had the honor of taking them both to school on their first day of Orientation. The next picture is of Trent with his bike. No- I did not follow him to school on his bike just to to snap a picture of him in front of the school. I drove him to school and he stashed his bike in the back of the truck so that he could bike home later that day.

Starstruck

2009-09-17T20:27:00.009-04:00

Spoiled. Absolutely spoiled. Let me take a quick break from my Summer Part I, II, III to tell you what went down at Beef-O-Brady's tonight. First of all Trent and his buddy, Lane Fowler, got to the restaurant at 4:45, it is very, very important, after all, that they get there in time to get the best seats in the house. Coach Meyer is going to be there for his radio talk show, Gator Hotline, and rummer has it you can get your stuff signed.

An hour and an half later I show up and find them sitting on the front row [or cloud nine, however you want to look at it]. Another hour later, Coach shows up with his two kids and the show begins, Trent can't get over how close he is to Urban.

During the first break Trent goes up to Urban and has the book that he read this summer, Urban's Way, signed.

I follow by getting one of Lane's books signed and the shoulder of some ugly UF shirt that Trent wanted signed. [Peeing our pants right now].

Then some chick with a microphone walks by, and Trent asks her if he can ask Urban a question for the call in show. She says yes. [freaking out with the camera ready to capture him asking the question]

He asked some bogus question about some second stringer making his way to first string.

Show goes on, and there is another break, we ask one of Urban's assistants (who happens to have played basketball with Trent) if we can get a picture with Urban [pushing our luck? maybe], he says sure and Urban obliges. [Picture with Urban? ecstatic]

Then Trent mentions briefly that we are from Utah. I could just about rehearse the rest of our 5 or so minute conversation with him but let me just touch on the basics- He asked us where exactly we were from, what high school Trent went to, If we are LDS, then he went on and on about how much he loved Utah and the people and how he got to go to General Conference a couple times and sit at the very front with Orin Hatch... then we told him about when we met Joseph B. Wirthlin about three years ago at church and we told him that Trent wants to go to Dental school at the University of Florida and he told us that when we go to Florida to tell Urban that he said Hi... Coach thought that was really neat, especially since his good friend Elder Wirthlin has since passed away... I told him how when that happened we laughed about how we never thought we would actually get the opportunity to pass on the "Hi" for Elder Wirthlin, but we were happy to be wrong about that. [over the giddiness, now we are just having a relaxed conversation] Urban asked us what our name was and told us that it was really good to meet us. What did we say in return? Nothing, absolutely nothing. We looked him in the eye as we shook his hand and just smiled in a star-stricken gaze trying to figure out if this was really happening... After all it is kinda similar to this reoccurring dream that Trent has been having... haha

Summer Wrap-up [Part II]

2009-09-13T21:34:00.002-04:00

July brought with it two visits from Trent's family. First was a one week visit from his mom . We had lots of fun exploring Florida with her. We went to St. Augustine to see the old fort and to Jacksonville Beach to have dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. Unfortunately, we didn't take many pictures-Trent also took her out to Paynes Prairie a few times to see the alligators. Judy was not a fan of the proximity of the alligators and used whatever means she had to ensure they kept their distance.

Trent also took her to Cedar Key, Palm Coast, and Flagler Beach to scope our time shares for a future visit. We also took her to campus to see the dental school, and also to the bat house to see the bats fly out at dusk.
Next, we had a visit from Trent's dad, Gene. Our visit from Gene was very...low key, we wore him out quick. Trent took him to Paynes Prairie, Orlando, Flagler beach, but mostly his visit was spent relaxing at the house or by the pool.

We had lots of fun with Trent's parents! Thanks for visiting :)

Summer Wrap-up [Part 1]

2009-09-13T20:47:00.006-04:00

We have had a very busy summer. In July when I started to get behind on my blog I decided I would try and soak up all the "Trent time" I could before he started school. As rumor had it he would be crazy busy, which means I would have all the time in the world to sit my lonely self down at a computer and update the blog. I *thought* the first day of school was August 24 but it turns out that was actually orientation, and the next day too, oh, and there was a third day of orientation. And then 4 days off before school really started and then a week later there was a holiday, all of which means a longer summer and less me-time to create this much delayed summer wrap-up post.

Trent went to a group members house tonight to work on a presentation. Looks like me-time kicks in today. In fact, before he left he tells me its time for me to update the blog. He lays out a game plan, suggests I do this Part I, II, II system, and prays at the dinner table that I will be able to finish my blogging before he gets home, what?? So here we go...

Part I is June 2009, btw.

One of the only things I can remember about June was our trip to Elberton, Georgia to visit Jeff, Stacey, and their sweet baby Cheyenne. We hadn't seen them for just over a year when they left Utah to take a football coaching position in this small town just outside of Athens, very close to where my grandma lives. We were so excited that they were moving south and we were just crossing our fingers that we would be able to follow them there the next summer. Just yesterday I was telling Trent how I miss the days when we would hang out with Jeff and Stacey into the wee hours of the morning, we would just get more and more giggly and couldn't help but hang out longer. One time we actually had a sleep over. I am getting off topic, lets just say Jeff and Stacey are one of our favorite friends and we are glad that we only live 6 hours apart and are able to occasionally get in our late night laughs with them. While we were there we went to the UGA Sanford Stadium (where we walked around the whole thing until we found a cracked door to sneak in through), went to dinner with my grandma, went running, Trent and Jeff played basketball, went to the Clemson Stadium (where we touched the famous Howard's Rock which the Clemson football team touches prior to every game, we also got VIP access to the suites upstairs), ate at Mac's Drive inn, visited Little John Basketball Court, and we got to see their beautiful new home in Athens. Here are some pictures
Whoops can't read my captions. Try clicking on it to make it bigger.

The things we will do for free food

2009-07-10T09:20:00.004-04:00

Wear a cow outfit to chick-fil-a today and get a free meal. We were the only one's in costume this morning- we got a few funny looks, but we had fun and thought it was totally worth it. Get your own cow costume here.

Welcome to Gatorville

2009-06-27T21:45:00.004-04:00

We have been in Gainesville for almost two months now and have made it out to the La chua Trail twice already to observe nature and the slew of alligators that live in it. Our very first visit to the trail was with my brother, Alex, and his family along with my sister, Amanda, and her daughter. The second time was with Ryker, my sister's husband, when he came to visit. It's almost gauranteed that if you come and visit us in Gainesville, you will get taken down to this La chua Trail, which is also refered to as Payne's Prarie, to see the gators. The first 500 yards or so is fenced in and raised above the water. But after that its wide open with no fence-- just water, gators, and a nice little trail to walk along. The aligators haven't shown any hostility so far, and unless that changes we plan to continue our frequent visits.
Trent's usual involvement with this blog that I call "ours" is slim to nothing, the exception being this very post. I think he has reminded me at least once a day for the past week or so to post the pictures of the gators. So, per Trent's request, please enjoy the following slide show.

California, Arizona, Orlando Trip

2009-06-27T20:19:00.004-04:00

This is so frustrating... I have so much to blog about, but so little time. And before I can blog about anything else, I have to get this post off my chest. It's another picture post, this time featuring pictures from our little trip from sea to shining sea.

We left on May 26th, our three year anniversary. We stayed the night at the Marriott Renaissance, which is some fancy hotel near the airport that we found on hotwire.com.
ps: hotwire is awesome for last minute reservations. However, you may think you are getting a good deal for a four star hotel, and you are, except for the fact that you have to pay though the nose for everything that is supposed to be free-- like parking, internet, etc. oh, but the weight room was amazing and it was free, phew.

Here is Trent in the little waiting area by the elevator, the hotel decor was wild

From Orlando we flew to Orange County where we got to see Katie and Joe again! I was in awe on our short ride from the airport to their adorable apartment in New Port Beach because it was so beautiful. It was around 2 o'clock, the sun was out, but it wasn't too hot, and there were tall palm trees lining all the huge roads. But the very next day June Gloom set in and we didn't get to see too much more of the sun. ANYway, Katie and Joe did such a good job entertaining us. Katie took us to Balboa Island via bike ride and ferry, made amazing smoothies for breakfast, had our favorite casserole pre-made, ready to throw in the oven, and took us to two of our favorite restaurants- Sweet Tomatoes and Red Robin. We had so much fun with them. Here is a picture with Katie right before we left.
From New Port Beach we headed to Temecula where we got to see Emilee and John at their rehearsal dinner. They are such a cute couple- we love them.
From there we headed south for San Diego to go to the wedding. The Temple was so beautiful, but I didn't get a single picture because it was raining. After the wedding we went to Balboa Park and Anthony's Seafood Restaurant, a favorite from Trent's childhood memories. We had a nice veiw of the Pacific Ocean
After our short stop in San Diego we went up to Menifee to go to the most fabulous reception I have ever been to. It looked like it was right out of a Martha Stuart magazine, everything was simply perfect.
Here is Trent shaking Johns hand towards the end of the night
Trying to capture the scene, it was so fun.

Next stop: Arizona. We flew into the Phoenix airport and got to see my Grandma, Uncle Brent, and cousins Ashley, Celeste, and Michael. Here we are with my adorable Grandma Jessie.

The next day we went to the community beach park at my sister's in Gilbert.Trent's sister came all the way up from Tucson (2+ hour drive) just to spend a few hours with us at the beach then turn back around and drive us back. On top of that she is pregnant with baby #2. We only had one full day in Tucson but we were able to cram a lot of fun stuff into it. This is easy to do when your host lives in a neighborhood with its own water park type of thing, gym, mini golf course, jogging trail (which I wouldn't recommend using at mid afternoon--but hello? it's Arizona, who would ever even think to try that one?). Here is a nice shot of their whole family at the mini golf course.
And our entire family too.
Trent with little Addie. It was so much fun spending time with Sabrina, Brett, and Addie.
After our quick stop in Arizona we flew back to Orlando where we stayed with my other Grandparents, Meme and Lee, for a couple of nights at their timeshare. Here we are at Downtown Disney.
We found a store called "Trent," at least that's what it appears to be at first glance.Trent found the neighboring ESPN store to be much more entertaining.We had Kalil choose her favorite helment.
I think she was a little more excited about the UF one than the FSU one :( She has that, "why is this on my head" look on her face.When we got home Kalil got to take a bubble bath in Meme's tub, so I put my swimsuit on and jumped in too.
Meme and Lee took us out to eat at a really nice seafood restaurant, Landry's- it was so good.
Lastly, our trip to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Since this post is already too long, I consolidated all of our NASA pictures into one.

job-search-story

2009-06-24T21:24:00.004-04:00

To keep my long and excruciating job-search-story short-- I started my new job yesterday!! If only the double exclamation point could fully express my excitement...
So far it has been fantastic. Job heaven, if you will. Nothing beats the first few weeks on a new job when all the training/learning/deep thinking occurs.
The deal sealer was the location. One day I will have to pull out my stopwatch and get the official time it takes me to get to work, but until then the following map will have to suffice.

I almost forgot

2009-06-21T09:09:00.004-04:00

In my last post I almost forgot to include this fantastic picture

With the exception of our other car, the above picture has everything that Trent and I have in our possession. After selling off most of the items we no longer wanted on Craigslist, Trent and I managed to stuff everything we owned into a little plywood box that Trent's step dad and my dad constructed on the back of our Isuzu Hombre.

It must have weighed a ton and a half. And those tiny little tires couldn't handle all that weight, hence the flat tire that we got. Did I mention we were only 60 miles from my parents house when we pulled over and noticed the flat? But we think we may have driven with the flat for some 50 miles before we decided to pull over. Whoops.